


The design in the stars is the same in our hearts

by Ikira



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Kid Fic, M/M, Matt-Centric, Minor character death but it's an OC so it's okay, Misunderstandings, Non-Explicit Sex, Non-Graphic Violence, Slavery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-26
Updated: 2016-10-28
Packaged: 2018-08-27 04:48:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 26,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8387788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ikira/pseuds/Ikira
Summary: Matt is lost, completely alone other than a helpless alien baby that he must to care for, and if anyone finds him with this baby, they will both be killed immediately. He is so very much in over his head. He wants his dad. He wants Shiro. But he’s pretty sure both of them are dead by now, and he has no one to rely on but himself.
That’s okay, though. Matt is determined to survive, and he’ll do whatever it takes to keep this baby safe. He’s got a whole universe to discover along the way. And maybe, if he’s really lucky, he might just find happiness too.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I have had this idea bouncing around in my head for a while now, so I'm thrilled to finally get it out there. Once again, it's time to shine some love on one of my favorite "barely-gets-any-screentime-why-do-i-love-you" characters, Matt Holt! The title comes from the poem A Finger, Two Dots, Then Me by Derrick Brown, which I think is absolutely gorgeous and makes me all emotional but otherwise has very little to do with this fic. The alternative title is "Ignite Your Bones" because I was basically just listening to Coldplay's "Fix You" on repeat while I was writing this.
> 
> I just want to send out a huge thank you to **sexythewalkingcatfish** on tumblr who was willing to listen to my crazy idea in the first place, helped me hone the story into something less messy, motivated me to keep working, and then betaed as well. This fic would not exist without you, my dear.
> 
> I also want to thank my amazing team of betas who offered to check over the fic for me. Thank you **sxkaii, commandocoran, dondailily, superswimtheocean12,** and **hells-will-writes** ( **anime_queen_88** on AO3) for checking over my story, fixing my typos and grammar, and making sure everything made sense and flowed well. Trust me, without you guys, this would be a much lesser fic
> 
> And thank you, dear readers, for giving this fic a chance. I hope y'all enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it.

Matt isn’t quite sure why he’s surprised to find that Galra bleed red. Most alien races, he’s found, do. Why should the Galra be any different? But somehow the bright ruby colour of the blood spreading out beneath her body catches him off guard.

“ _If they catch you, they will kill you_ ,” she rasps out. She has no pupils, yet somehow Matt can tell that her gaze is becoming unfocused. That she can no longer see the room around them. Her breath is wheezing in her chest, a sick, bubbling sound echoing after each inhale. “ _So don’t get caught_ ,” she orders as strongly as she can while she bleeds out on the floor of her home.

The bundle in Matt’s arms squirms, and he tightens his hold until it stops. Outside, the screaming and sounds of chaos have become distant, but Matt knows that they can return at any moment. His heart is pounding like a mouse trapped by a cat.

“You must go, now,” she whispers, her thoughts mirroring his own. But despite her words, she still reaches up with one trembling hand, letting it rest gently atop the bundle. Matt shifts the swaddling just far enough that her fingertips can trail over the soft purple skin of the baby’s cheek one final time. She is crying openly now, blind eyes staring up at nothing, but she still manages to smile up at Matt through her tears. “Take care of my son.”

“I will take care of him,” Matt says, stumbling over the Galran words and mangling their pronunciation. Despite all the time he’s spent surrounded by the language, it still does not come easily to him. “I’ll keep him safe. I promise.”

He has no idea if he can keep this promise. He doesn’t even know if he can keep himself safe.

But it is worth it just to give her this little bit of peace before her death. She nods up at him just once, her face relaxing as she sighs out her last breath, and then her eyes slip closed and her body stills. There is a moment of quiet where not even the sounds of the riot outside seem to reach inside the ransacked home. Matt bows his head over her, clutching the baby to his chest, and gives her the only rites she will receive. It does not seem to be nearly enough, but it is all he can do.

And then the moment is over, and Matt knows he must move. He stands quickly, adjusting his burden and absently shushing it with soft words when it starts to whimper. On autopilot he moves around the home, digging through the rubble to find anything that he can carry, anything he might need. An old satchel is stuffed with clothing, food, a few toys, a small set of tools, and what he believes is a first aid kit, his fingers trembling as he grabs each item. Knowing he will need his hands free soon, he takes a long strip of fabric and uses it to tie the squirming baby to his chest in a sling. A hooded cloak hanging on the hook by the back door is far too large for him, the fabric dragging when he throws it over his shoulders, but it will provide warmth, protection, and a disguise, so he wears it anyways.

He steps out the back door just in time. He hears the smashing of glass as the rioters reach the house across the street, and there is a loud cry as something explodes. Matt uses the noise as a distraction, and he slips out into the night as quietly as he can, ducking from shadow to shadow with his heart in his throat and his precious bundle pressed tightly to his chest.

As he escapes from the nightmares behind him, her words echo in his mind.

_If they catch you, they will kill you. So don’t get caught._

~☆~

“That one,” the guard’s voice rings out over the din of the slaves at work. Matt doesn’t look up. None of them look up. They know better. Unless they are being addressed specifically, they are never to look up.

But that doesn’t mean he won’t listen.

There is a soldier standing next to the guard, one that Matt does not recognize. He catches a glimpse of the newcomer when he goes back to gather more tools to carry, and although he doesn’t have much time to study the new figure, he can still tell that it is someone important based on his armour. None of the usual guards wear anything that ornate. Matt absently wonders if he should be worried, and then decides that he’s being silly. He’s a slave on an alien planet, far from anyone or anything he knows, with no way of getting home. He should _always_ be worried.

He has just resolved to forget the matter entirely when he realizes that the guard is pointing at him. Although his outward expression does not change, and he does not stop moving, he feels his insides freeze. He’s been here long enough to know that being singled out never ends well.

“This one’s pretty good with the other slaves,” he hears the guard say as the two Galra approach. “I’ve seen him caring for some of them when they’re broken. Not that there’s much point, but he’s managed to get us a few more days of labour out of a few of them, and the others seem to appreciate his work. He’s also got a good temperament. Doesn’t act up. He should be perfect.”

If it were possible to be more afraid, Matt would be. He hadn’t realized that the guards had noticed his attempts at playing medic for the other slaves. He has been all but useless most of the time with no supplies and no knowledge of alien biology, but he can’t stop himself from trying. He has to at least be better than nothing, and it has made him friends among the other slaves. Or at least as close to friends as one could get in these circumstances, when you’re likely to drop dead any given day from sickness or injury or work accidents. Now, though, his bleeding heart tendencies have apparently come back to bite him.

Matt’s heart is thundering in his chest, but he doesn’t know what else to do but keep working. He places his bundles in front of the slave responsible for repairing them, and when he lifts his head for a split second, he meets her gaze. Her eyes are wide with terror and pity for him, but she does nothing but take the bundle from him and start pulling them apart with her needle-like fingers. She knows she can do nothing to help him. He doesn’t want her to try. Better that only he suffer, he decides.

So when a hand clamps down on his shoulder and forces him to turn around, Matt doesn’t fight it. He merely drops his eyes to the ground, hiding them behind his hair as he always does when faced with a Galra soldier, and keeps as still as possible. Perhaps all he will receive is a beating.

But to his shock, a gauntleted hand slips under his chin and forces his head up. He stares up in fear at the Galra towering over him. The man’s armour is more ornate than Matt had first realized, covered in glowing runes. He has his helmet tucked under his free arm and is studying Matt’s face intently with narrowed yellow eyes. Matt swallows thickly, trapped in the soldier’s gaze.

After a long, breathless moment, the soldier’s eyes soften. Matt is absolutely gobsmacked when the soldier even seems to _smile_ at him, lips carefully pressed together to hide his tusks. His hand drops from Matt’s chin, and he turns towards the guard and nods.

“He’s perfect,” the soldier says firmly, his voice coming out as an unexpected tenor rather than the usual low growling tones Matt expected. “I’ll take him.”

Before Matt knows what’s happening, his old slave outfit is being replaced with a new set of finer clothes, covered in rich embroidery that he faintly recognizes as a family symbol, and then he’s being led out of the slave camp without further delay, never to see it again.

He dares to look back only once, but none of the slaves raise their heads to watch him go.

~☆~

He is cold and he is lost and he is alone and the baby is crying.                                                                                                                                                                    

“Shhhh, no, shhhhh,” Matt desperately whispers. Although he’s run far enough into the wilderness that he’s sure that they’re safe for the moment, he still can’t fight the fear of being discovered. He’s never gone this far from the city; he has no idea what’s out here.

“Hush, baby,” he murmurs, struggling to unwrap the sling with numb fingers so he can look the baby over properly. The moment the fabric falls away he lifts the baby up into his arms properly. One hand checks the diaper, while the other brushes his fingers against the baby’s fuzzy ears, checking for fever as he’d been taught. There’s no dampness and no heat, so his next guess is that the baby is hungry.

Matt is very grateful that they had just successfully weaned him two weeks ago.

The packages of baby food that the Galra use look nothing like the jars back on Earth, but Matt has prepared more of them than he can count, and so he grabs one at random and pops it open. The spoon-like utensil that comes included gets dug out next, and the baby’s cries finally cut off as Matt gently starts feeding. After that there is nothing but the sound of gradually fading sniffles, the scrape of the spoon against the side of the pouch, and Matt humming little encouraging noises every time the baby takes a mouthful.

When it’s all done, Matt buries the empty package so that they can’t be tracked, but tucks the spoon back in his bag just in case. He’d mostly grabbed baby food when he’d fled, but he’d also managed to take a bundle of rations and some dried meat as well. He leaves the meat, in case he needs it for the baby, and chokes down a ration bar for his own meal. Somehow, it’s almost worse than the slop they used to feed the slaves at the mines.

When both of them are fed and the baby has started to fall asleep against Matt’s chest, he allows himself to sink down to the ground, resting against one of the monolithic boulders that pepper the landscape of the wilderness around them. His eyes slip closed as he finally allows the reality of his situation to hit him.

He’s lost, he’s alone, and he has to take care of an alien baby, and if anyone finds him with this baby, they will both be killed immediately. He is so very much in over his head.

He desperately wishes his dad was there, with some kind of fatherly advice or support. But his dad isn’t here. He hasn’t seen his dad since before he and Shiro were taken to the gladiator rings to fight. He may never see his dad again. For all he knows, his dad is dead, just like Shiro after he went into the ring in Matt’s place. Just like _Matt_ should have been. Shiro would still be alive if not for him. God, he should have kissed Shiro when he had the chance. He should have told him that he loved him. He should have done _so many things_ , but it doesn’t matter now.

He’s alone out here, with no one to rely on but himself.

He wants his dad. He wants his mom. He wants _Shiro_.

There are a million stars spread out above his head, visible now that he’s left the burning city behind. But instead of looking up at them in wonder as he would have done a lifetime ago back on Earth, he bows his head and tries not to wake up the baby with his tears.

~☆~

Matt has never seen a female Galra before. Matt has also never seen a _pregnant_ Galra before. But now he definitely has.

He can’t help but stare at the woman as the Galra soldier guides him through the gate, up the winding path to the front door of the house where she’s waiting. She’s dressed in a pale blue robe that rustles in the light breeze, the colour striking against her deep purple skin. When she spots the two of them, she breaks into a wide grin and starts down the steps with her arms spread wide. The soldier rushes to meet her, wrapping her carefully in his arms and nuzzling against her cheeks, her neck, her forehead. Matt watches and wonders if he should be looking away. This seems kind of…intimate.

They seem to forget he is there as they talk quietly to each other for a while, but then the woman looks over at him. Her yellow eyes are curious, her long furred ears perked up.

“My love, who is this?” she asks.

The soldier looks back at Matt and then gives the woman a pleased grin. “My dearest wife, this is your new helper,” he tells her. Both Matt and the woman stiffen in surprise, but before either can react, the soldier is grabbing Matt by the arm and dragging him forward. He’s brought to stand before the woman, and looks up at her. He knows he’s already short by human standards, but he’s surprised and mildly annoyed to see that he only comes up to her chest. Is everyone in the universe taller than him?

She stares down at him, blinking her yellow eyes.

“I know I’ve been so busy lately,” the soldier begins to explain, “what with the new promotion and relocation, and I’m worried that I’m not around enough for you.”

“Ranok, please, it’s fine,” the woman protests, but the soldier – Ranok – continues.

“No, Messa, it’s _not_ fine. You’ll need help preparing for the baby, and you’ll need help once the baby comes. So he’ll be your help, when I can’t be here.” Ranok’s hand lands heavily on Matt’s shoulder, making him stumble slightly. “He came well recommended. He’s supposed to have a very good nurturing instinct, if Zook is to be believed.”

Messa huffs, blowing her hair out of her face. “Zook is _never_ to be believed,” she grumbles. But she doesn’t say no, which Ranok seems to pick up on, based on the grin he gives her. “Oh, very well. I suppose it’ll be nice to have an extra pair of hands around the house. Is he house-trained? Do we have supplies? What does he even _eat?_ ”

Ranok opens his mouth, and then freezes. “I, uh…I don’t know,” he admits after a moment. “I didn’t think to ask.”

“Well?” Messa grunts.

For a moment there is a strange pause in the conversation where Matt waits for Ranok to respond, but he doesn’t. And then Matt feels both of the Galra’s eyes on him, waiting, and his breath hitches as he realizes they’re both looking at him expectantly. For the first time in what feels like months, someone is actually speaking to him. As in, they expect him to answer. He’s so stunned and so out of practice, he doesn’t know what to say.

“Perhaps he doesn’t speak?” Ranok offers after it takes too long for Matt to say something. “You know how some races can be, and he’s certainly a unique one.”

“Yes he is,” Messa agrees slowly, uncertainly. “What _is_ he?”

“I’m not sure, never seen anything like him,” Ranok confesses. “Rather exotic, though.”

“I’m human,” Matt suddenly chokes out, his voice so raw from disuse that it comes out as more of a whisper than anything. But both Ranok and Messa’s ears perk up immediately, and they bend closer to hear him.

“A what? What did you say?” Messa prompts him. But Matt is too scared by their attention, too used to the beatings and the abuse that come after, to dare open his mouth again. He lets his head hang down, hiding behind his hair, and shakes.

Messa and Ranok share a look. “Well, I guess he _can_ talk,” Ranok says. “Sort of.”

Messa just hums, studying Matt carefully.

“That doesn’t matter now, though,” Ranok eventually declares. His hand on Matt’s shoulder slips down to his back, and Ranok gently pushes him forward towards the house. “We’ll figure that out later. For now, let’s get out of the cold, and I’ll tell you all about how the mining operation is going.”

Messa trails after them, the edges of her robe brushing the ground with every step as they head into the house. Matt can feel her thoughtful gaze on the back of his neck the whole way into the house.

~☆~

Matt freezes as he hears the door he just snuck past slide open. The light from inside the house spills out into the alleyway, blinding him.

An alien pokes its head out of the door, squinting compound eyes into the dark shadows that the light doesn’t reach. Matt, hidden in one of these shadows, silently prays that it doesn’t see him.

_If they catch you, they will kill you_ , he thinks, watching the alien lean out further into the alley.

“Who’s there?” the alien hisses, its mandibles clacking. _Her_ mandibles clacking, Matt mentally corrects himself when he catches sight of the blue rings around the base of her two long trailing antenna, which he’s learned from his time hiding out on this planet means she’s female. Or at least he _thinks_ that’s what it means. The species has at least three genders that he’s been able to identify so far, and he’s pretty sure he’s missing a few, so he could easily be wrong. “Come on out, I can smell you even if I can’t see you. Don’t make me send out my boys!”

Caught, Matt slowly allows himself to melt out of the darkness, stepping into view. She jolts a little when she spots him, but then her eyes narrow again suspiciously. Matt can tell she’s trying to see under his hood, but he just drops his head lower.

“Well, there you are, then,” she snorts after a moment. “A bit smaller than I was expecting, aren’t you? What are you doing out here? Messing in my bins? I heard you, you little thief, don’t you dare deny it!”

“I’m sorry, ma’am,” Matt rasps out as respectfully as he can, which is not always easy to do in Galran. His throat is so dry it feels like it’s burning, and his lips are cracked and bleeding. “I didn’t mean to cause trouble. I was just looking for food.”

“Well go find it somewhere else,” she snaps, her antenna whipping around her in fury. “I don’t like thieves, troublemakers, not in my establishment. Go on, get!”

But Matt is too tired. He sways where he stands. “I have nowhere else to go,” he finally admits quietly, mournfully. He’s so hungry. So tired.

She reaches behind her, grabbing a long stick, and prepares to chase him off with it, when suddenly the bundle strapped to Matt’s chest shifts and lets out the unmistakeable sound of a baby crying. She freezes in mid-motion, watching with wide eyes as Matt groans and starts bouncing  in place, rubbing his hand up and down the baby’s back and shushing it weakly.

“I know, I know,” Matt murmurs, pressing his lips to the baby’s head. Although he feels almost too tired to move, he still forces himself to rock gently, trying to provide some comfort. “I’m hungry too.”

The baby just cries louder.

“You’ve got a kid there?” the alien suddenly speaks up, sounding much less hostile and much more curious than before. Matt jumps; he’d forgotten she was there for a moment.

“Yes,” he answers reluctantly. When he sees her craning her neck, trying to see inside the sling, he shifts the fabric higher so that the baby is completely covered. She huffs in annoyance, but doesn’t push him.

“Well, I suppose that’s different then,” she says slowly, her antenna twitching. “Can’t leave a baby out in the cold, can I? Absolutely not!” She seems to come to a decision, nodding to herself. She then steps aside, gesturing Matt forward. “In ya get, hurry now!”

Matt hesitates, but only for a second. He’s too tired and cold and hungry to resist the siren call of the warm building, and so he scurries forward, keeping his head ducked and the baby held close. The tiny thing is still sniffling and whimpering, but moving into a warm space has managed to calm him down a little bit.

“This way,” the alien tells Matt, and after tossing her stick carelessly aside, she leads him through the back hall of the tavern. Matt can hear rowdy voices just on the other side of the wall, but the alien seems to realize he’s nervous around others, because instead she leads him to a small room just past the kitchen. It’s cramped and cluttered, with a large desk in the middle, a lumpy piece of furniture that Matt suspects is something like a couch against the far wall, and shelves everywhere else. Every square inch minus the couch is covered in paperwork made of the glossy material Matt has seen everywhere on this planet.

“Here, you can stay the night in my office,” the alien offers gruffly. She goes around behind the desk and pulls a scratchy blanket out of one of the drawers, tossing it over the couch. “I’ll bring you something to eat as well. What about the babe? What does he eat?”

“Uh, mashed laza is fine for both of us,” Matt says quickly. It’s a common staple grain in the Galra empire, even though he’s noticed the people of this planet don’t tend to eat it. Hopefully she won’t find his request suspicious.

Although she does give him an annoyed look, she doesn’t question his request. She merely nods. “Fine, should have some of that lying around from the last time there was a visit from those damn purple bastards.” She turns to leave, but then she hesitates in the doorway. She looks back at him. “What happened to the mother?” she asks quietly.

Matt flinches, his lips pressing together into a flat line. “Dead,” he tells her honestly, bluntly. She winces, and shakes her head sadly.

“Those damn Galra brutes,” she hisses. Then she leaves, shutting the door behind her. Matt waits until he can no longer hear her footsteps walking down the hallway before he finally dares to relax, pulling back the sling a little so that he can look down.

Teary yellow eyes blink up at him, a tiny purple chin wibbling as the baby starts to cry again. Matt sighs and presses his forehead against the baby’s.

“I know, I know, Boo. Don’t worry. Tomorrow we’ll be off of this planet, and on to the next one. We’re clearly not safe here either.” He reaches into his satchel, digging around until he finds one of the last pieces of dried meat. Carefully he pulls a small strip from it, pressing it against the baby’s sharp teeth. He smiles as the baby starts gnawing away, dribbling a little, and wipes up the slobber with the corner of his much-abused cloak. Although he is so very tempted to take a nibble of the meat himself, he knows he needs to save it for the baby. A growing Galra child needs as much protein as possible, and as a fully grown man he himself needs little. Besides, if the alien is to be trusted, he’ll have food soon enough.

Still, the sooner he can get out of here the better. This planet clearly has no sympathy for the Galra, and even if this alien woman seems to have a soft spot for children, Matt doesn’t want to find out what she’ll do when she finds out that he has a _Galra_ baby with him. So he makes sure that the baby is carefully covered when she returns with their meal, and keeps his cloak pulled in tight around them as long as she is present. He doesn’t relax until she finally leaves for good, off to bed herself.

Although the couch is small and lumpy and the blanket is thin and scratchy, it’s still the best sleep Matt has had in a long time. He wakes long before the dual sunrise, makes a meal for them out of the cold leftovers from the night before and the final piece of dried meat, and then tidies up the space to make it look like they were never there. He slips out the back door and disappears into the early morning mist long before any of the residents of the tavern start to stir.

When the alien finally enters her office well past sunrise, she finds her blanket carefully folded on the couch, her dishes scraped clean, and a thank you note in shaky script. She stares at the note for a long time, before shaking her head. Tucking the note in the pocket of her apron, she gathers up the used dishes and heads for the kitchen, ready to open up shop. By the end of the day, she’s already forgotten all about her strange visitors.

~☆~

When Katie was born, Matt remembers holding her for the very first time after his mom had come home from the hospital. He remembers staring down at her tiny face, the little tuft of soft hair on her head, and deciding he was going to be the best big brother ever for her. He was going to take care of her and keep her safe.

Holding Messa and Ranok’s son, he feels an echo of that moment. Although the baby is bigger than Katie had been, and there’s soft purple fur instead of hair, he still gets that protective instinct flaring up in his chest. He’s going to take care of this tiny creature and keep him safe.

“See? I knew it was a good idea to get him,” Ranok chuckles against the sweaty skin of Messa’s shoulder. She’s only just given birth, and is still breathing hard, but she looks over at Matt holding her new baby protectively in his arms and smiles. Matt finds himself smiling back, despite himself.

He’ll never be truly fond of Messa and Ranok. Although they aren’t cruel to him, and they’ve welcomed him into their home easily enough, they treat him more like a pet than a person. It’s clear that every time they look at him, they see him as a lesser being.

But this baby? Oh, this baby he will love with all his heart.

“What will we name him?” The couple starts discussing potential names, but Matt has already made up his mind. As children, he and Katie had loved Disney movies, Katie’s nickname of “Pidge” coming from Lady and the Tramp and his own nickname of “Milo” from Atlantis. He takes one look at the fuzzy little purple baby in his arms and smiles.

“Boo,” he whispers to himself. The baby’s eyes flutter open for a second, as if accepting this new name, and then he falls asleep again.

~☆~

There’s a purple alien staring at him from across the bay of the refugee shuttle, and it’s making Matt’s skin crawl.

When Matt first spots the alien, his heart nearly jumps out of his chest. He’d thought he’d been found by the Galra. But when he looks again, he realizes that aside from the similar colouring, this guy looks nothing like a Galra. He’s too small for one, not much taller than Matt, and he’s shaped differently. His most striking features are his droopy eyes and oddly sharp pointed nose, nothing like a Galra’s facial features. Despite this, Matt can’t help but look over at the alien suspiciously, which is how he catches the purple alien looking back.

They’ve been on-route in this massive refugee shuttle for what feels like hours now. Matt has no idea where the shuttle is going, nor does he care so long as it’s going away from the Galra and the Resistance and anyone who might want to hurt him or Boo. He’s been running for so long now, been to so many different planets, seen so many different alien species now that it’s all starting to blur together. His entire life has boiled down to staying alive and keeping the baby safe and healthy. Any thoughts of getting home or seeing his family again have long since been abandoned. He just wants to live.

So when the purple alien leans over to his companion, a female-looking yellow alien with head tentacles, and whispers something to her while looking straight at Matt, he feels his flight or fight instincts kick in. With his ratty old cloak tucked tightly around him, and Boo strapped firmly to his chest in his sling, no one seems to have noticed that there’s a Galra baby in their midst yet, but Matt has a feeling he might have just been found out, based on the way the purple alien is watching him.

_If they catch you, they will kill you. So don’t get caught_ , Messa whispers to him in his mind.

He’s debating about making a run for it when the man suddenly stands up and starts walking over towards him, but where would he go? Although the shuttle is huge, it’s still an enclosed space, and there’s only so many places Matt can try to hide with the baby. Besides, running might bring more unwanted attention on him, and he can’t afford that right now. He _suspects_ the purple alien is on to him, after all, he doesn’t _know_. He decides to wait, and prays he’s not making the wrong choice.

His breath hitches in his throat when the purple alien sits down right next to him, shoving a family of small furball-like aliens aside to make room, and then gives Matt what he assumes is supposed to be a charming smile. Matt is too nervous to be charmed. He tries to hide it though, hopes his face is still carefully blank as he turns towards the man and raises an eyebrow in silent question.

“Hi there,” the alien greets him, raising a large, four fingered hand in a tiny wave. His voice is low, kind of gravelly, and actually quite pleasant. “The name’s Rolo.”

“Matt,” he dares to respond, figuring that it can’t hurt to at least tell this Rolo person his name. He doubts the Galra empire would be looking for a runaway slave by name, anyways. He’s pretty sure the Galra never even _knew_ his name. “How can I help you?”

Rolo shrugs, everything about him screaming ‘casual’ to such a degree that it must be forced. Matt doesn’t relax for an instant.

“Sorry, this might seem kind of odd,” Rolo drawls out, rubbing at the back of his head just underneath his cap, “but you look kind of familiar. Have we met before?”

Matt goes even more still, his mind racing. _Have_ they? Matt’s pretty sure he’s never seen an alien like Rolo before, but there were so many slaves in the mines and the gladiator rings, and he’s been back and forth across so many planets, maybe he’s forgotten.

“I…don’t know,” he admits after a long pause. He prays that Boo doesn’t wake up and start squirming any time soon. Rolo doesn’t seem to be threatening him – yet – but Matt doesn’t know if that will change if he were to know about the baby. “Maybe?” he eventually offers.

Rolo squints at him, studying his features for a moment, and Matt resists the urge to duck his head and hide behind his hair like usual. Rolo might take it as a sign that he’s trying to hide something. Well, he _is_ trying to hide something, but he doesn’t want anyone to know that.

“We must have. You look way too familiar. Say,” he snaps his fingers as an idea seems to come to him. “Aren’t you one of those Voltron guys?”

Matt has recently heard of this ‘Voltron’ in hushed whispers and drunken rumours being spread throughout the galaxy. Some people speak of Voltron in fear, some in wonder, some in a mixture of the two. Matt’s not completely sure who or what Voltron is. From what he’s heard, Voltron could be anything from a new splinter group of the Resistance to an Old God that’s woken from the depths to extract vengeance on the Galra. Whatever Voltron is, Matt is pretty sure it wouldn’t be good for him and Boo, so he’s been avoiding any mentions or sightings of Voltron like the plague.

Thus he’s very confused that Rolo seems to think he has something to do with the mysterious entity.

“Um, no, I think you’re confusing me with someone else,” Matt says delicately, subtly leaning away from Rolo. “I really don’t know anything about this ‘Voltron’ other than rumours.”

Rolo frowns at him. “Are you sure? Because I could have sworn you were one of them.”

“Nope,” Matt insists, shaking his head so vigorously he feels Boo shift against him. He stops automatically, hoping he hasn’t woken the baby. “Sorry, wrong guy.”

“Oh.” Rolo seems to slump a little. “That’s too bad. We were hoping to get a chance to say hi, and to say sorry again after last time.”

All at once, a flicker of Matt’s long-buried curiosity comes to life. Rolo is talking about Voltron as if he’s met this person – or persons? – face to face. After hearing about Voltron in bits and pieces for so long, it would be nice to actually get the full story. So, almost despite himself, he leans back towards Rolo.

“So you’ve _met_ Voltron?” Matt whispers. “Like, for real?”

Rolo chuckles, amused by Matt’s cautious tone. “Yeah, I met them. Odd lookin’ bunch, but they were actually really good people. Hey, Nyma!” he suddenly calls out, waving towards his female companion. She looks up from the robot she was talking with. “Come over here, someone wants to hear about Voltron!”

Around them, other refugees perk up. Voltron is a story, a myth that’s slowly spreading through the galaxy one hushed whisper at a time, and to hear someone speaking so openly about it will naturally catch people’s attentions. Matt isn’t surprised as a group of people follow Nyma over, eager to listen for more gossip about Voltron.

Matt is but one of dozens of faces watching Rolo and Nyma in rapt attention as the two detail their meeting with the Paladins of Voltron, with occasional additions from the robot Beezer. The crowd gasps and oohs as the story goes on, Nyma describing how she tricked the Blue Paladin and managed to steal his lion, and then Rolo telling of how the rest of the team got it back. It takes Matt a moment to realize that a few of the descriptions of the Paladins sound awfully familiar.

“Wait,” he chokes out as the two finish their story, concluding with how they’d been spared but left with a broken down ship for someone else to rescue. He can barely be heard over the chatter of the crowd, so he tries again. “Wait!”

Rolo has been constantly looking back at him throughout their tale for some reason, so he notices right away when Matt tries to get their attention. He waves the group to settle, and eventually they do. “What is it, Matt?” Rolo asks, not unkindly.

Matt’s heart is pounding in his chest, and for the first time in a long time it’s not because of fear. It’s been so long that he’s almost forgotten what anticipation feels like. He licks his lips, his throat suddenly very dry, but forces himself to speak up, to be heard. “What did you say the Black Paladin looks like, again?”

Rolo’s face slowly breaks out into a smile. “Like you,” he says simply. “But taller.”

“Bulkier,” Nyma adds, hand on her hip. Unlike Rolo, she looks almost bored as she rattles off the features she can remember. “Dark hair with a white streak at the front. Really dark, narrow eyes, scar across his nose. Nice guy, I guess? He’s their leader.”

“Did he…is he…” Matt swallows thickly and pauses, taking the time to make sure his question comes out right. He’s been getting better at speaking Galran after being forced to use nothing else to communicate for so long, but he still mixes up words sometimes. He wants to make sure he’s understood clearly; it’s important. “His name. Did you get his name?”

Nyma and Rolo share a sad look, shaking their heads. “Probably, but I can’t remember it,” Nyma sighs.

Matt, however, is not deterred. “Was it Shiro?” he asks, breathless.

Immediately Rolo’s eyes light up, and Beezer starts chirping and beeping. “Yeah! That was it, I think I remember them calling him that!”

Matt doesn’t know what’s happening. One second he’s standing in the middle of a crowd of alien refugees, the next he’s on his knees on the floor, crying so hard his chest is aching. But it doesn’t matter because Shiro’s alive, Shiro’s _alive_.

Shiro’s alive and he’s free. Matt’s heart almost can’t take it.

He’s vaguely aware of hands rubbing his back, of someone grabbing his arm, of being picked up and carried away. A big, bulky alien that looks more like a giant rock than anything gently places him down in a dark corner of the ship, backing off only when Matt is fully seated, and then wandering off to stand guard while Rolo and Nyma crowd around him. Matt’s struggling to breathe, and he’s pretty sure Boo is awake now and crying, but he’s too numb to do anything about it. Shiro’s _alive_ , how can his mind possibly register anything else right now?

But then he feels Nyma reaching for the bundle on his chest, and he instinctively reacts, smacking her hands away violently and shouting, “No!”

The two aliens are startled. They share a glance.

“Relax, man, we’re not going to hurt you,” Rolo murmurs. He moves a little bit closer, as if to block Matt from Nyma, and Matt would laugh if he could figure out how his lungs worked again. He’s a scrawny human weak from starvation and a life on the run; do they really think he’s some kind of threat to them?

“Yeah, come on.” Nyma rubs her abused hand reproachfully. “We’re just trying to help you with your kid. Geeze, we didn’t even realize you _had_ one. How long has that thing been there?”

But Matt cannot be calmed. So long as there are strange aliens near Boo, his brain keeps screaming ‘DANGER’ at him, and he can’t calm down. “No, no, no, don’t touch him!” He clutches the baby closer to his chest and tries to turn away, even though that only makes Boo cry harder. The poor thing must be terrified with all of the shouting.

Nyma starts to object again, but she stops when Rolo places a hand on her shoulder. She shoots him a look, but he jerks his head towards the other alien. Nyma huffs and rolls her eyes, but apparently understands Rolo’s unspoken command, because she gets to her feet and stalks off.

“Hey,” Rolo says in a quiet voice as soon as she’s gone. The dark corner they’re tucked away in is far enough from the main bay of the shuttle that the only sounds Matt can hear is the distant hum of the engine rattling through the metallic body of the ship, Boo’s steady cries, and his own harsh breathing. He can feel the vibrations of the engines from where he’s pressing his forehead against the wall, and it rattles his teeth when he clenches them together. “Come on, man. We’re only trying to help.”

“Please,” Matt sobs, but he doesn’t even know what he’s asking for. He’s just so overwhelmed. All of the fear, all of the struggling, the sleepless nights, the near misses, the horror of his memories, all that he’s seen and done, it’s all coming crashing down on him in this moment and it’s just _so much_. He desperately wishes that his dad was here, that he wasn’t alone.

But all he’s got is Rolo and a crying baby.

Slowly, keeping his back to Rolo, he uncurls. On autopilot he pulls Boo from the sling, tucking the baby under his chin and nuzzling at Boo’s forehead like he’d seen Messa and Ranok do a hundred times before. Boo’s cries slowly turn to sniffles as Matt rubs his nose and cheek over Boo’s soft head, his own tears soaking the purple fur growing in like hair, until Boo has settled. Only then does Matt dare to look up.

Rolo is watching them with an unreadable expression. It’s not quite surprise, but it’s also not disgust, and he’s not pulling a weapon or calling for help, so Matt takes it as a good sign. Or as much of a good sign as he’ll get.

“His parents were murdered by the rebellion,” Matt slowly explains, keeping Boo tucked against his chest and rubbing soothing circles into the baby’s back. “His mother begged me to save him before she died and I just…I can’t let a little baby get killed. I _can’t.”_

“It’s a Galra,” Rolo says flatly, but there’s no heat in his voice. He’s just making a statement, like someone commenting on the weather. It’s possible that he’s actually shocked to see a Galra baby up close and he’s hiding it well, but Matt chooses to take his comment as an insult.

“He’s a baby,” Matt argues back hotly. “He’s never hurt anyone. You can’t blame him for what other people have done!”

Rolo looks momentarily taken aback by Matt’s fierce reaction, but he recovers quickly enough, the careful blank expression slipping back into place. “Done to you, even?” Rolo asks with a raised eyebrow. “You look like you’ve seen some rough times, my friend.”

Matt flushes but refuses to back down. “Yes. I…I’ve been through some…awful things. But, he can’t be blamed for that. He’s just a baby. You can’t blame him for other people’s actions. You are only responsible for your own actions.”

Something about what he said makes Rolo’s face twitch for a moment into something ugly, and Matt instinctively flinches back. But then Rolo’s expression goes smooth again, and he gives Matt a little nod. “Well said.”

They sit for a minute, just listening to the ship creaking and groaning around them. “So…what now?” Matt finally asks, when it doesn’t look like Rolo is going to attack him.

“What do you mean?”

“Are you going to tell everyone? Are you going to try to take him away from me?” Matt holds Boo a little bit tighter, just in case. He’s not much of a fighter, and Rolo looks like he’s got a lot of strength in those odd lumpy arms, but Matt will fight tooth and nail if Rolo decides to try something funny.

To his relief, Rolo only shrugs. “Nah, why would I do that? Like you said, he’s just a baby.”

Matt slumps against the bulkhead in relief. “Thank you,” he sighs.

“Just…” Rolo shakes his head sadly. “Don’t let anyone else see him, okay? I’m not gonna bug you, but I can’t speak for the rest of the folks out there. A lot of people have been hurt pretty bad by the Galra.”

“I know. Believe me, I _know,_ ” Matt says pointedly, and Rolo acknowledges him with a nod.

“Make sure you keep the kid under wraps until we land on the planet, okay?”

Matt doesn’t need to be told twice. Rolo stays with him just long enough so that Matt can change Boo and give him something to eat, and then he leaves, tossing Matt one last look over his shoulder. Matt waits until he’s alone before bowing his head and letting himself _think_ for a moment.

Shiro is alive. Shiro is alive and free and apparently with Voltron. Shiro is alive and free and out there somewhere, fighting against the Galra empire, trying to save people. Matt is completely unsurprised by that last bit. It’s just like Shiro to throw himself into harm’s way to protect others.

But Shiro has been fighting the Galra, and is on a team with others who all probably _hate_ the Galra. Although Matt is certain that Shiro would be overjoyed to see him, what would he think of Boo? What would the rest of this Voltron team think of Boo? Would they be willing to look past Boo’s species, like Rolo had? Or would their hatred blind them? Would they try to take Boo away? Or worse?

He wants to see Shiro again, his heart aches to see Shiro again, but he can’t fight the dread of what could happen to Boo if he sought Voltron out.

What should he do?

By the time the refugee shuttle is coming in for a landing on the newest planet in the long string of Matt’s travels, he still doesn’t have an answer.

~☆~

“Have you ever thought about having kids?”

Matt looks up in shock at Shiro’s sudden question. They’ve been sitting together in silence for an hour, studying for their physics exam next week, and this is the first time either of them has spoken since they’ve sat down. The question itself also came out of nowhere, and Matt has no idea what’s brought it on.

Shiro seems to catch on to his confusion, because he holds up the textbook. It’s a page of example questions that Matt has already completed, but that’s not what Shiro points to. At the top of the page there’s a stock photo of a man and a child playing baseball together, probably tangentially related to one of the questions, and although Matt hadn’t really paid attention to it when he was doing the questions, he can’t help but study it now. The man in the photo bears a striking resemblance to Shiro, albeit a few years older.

Matt softens when he sees it, immediately picturing Shiro with a small child of his own. Shiro is such a gentle and kind person, it’s easy to picture him with kids. Matt on the other hand…he’s known for a long time that he was never going to have children of his own. At least, not biologically.

Still, he’s definitely thought about it. Growing up with a younger sibling like Katie has definitely given him some experience, at least. And there’s just something about seeing a small baby sleeping in someone’s arms, the sound of children laughing…a part of him yearns for that experience.

“I have,” he answers simply, not wanting to say more and possibly incriminate himself. He’s sure that Shiro would never judge him about liking men, but he doesn’t want to make things awkward between them, just in case.

Shiro’s gaze flicks back towards the picture for a moment, before looking up at Matt again. “I…haven’t,” he confesses slowly. “I mean, maybe I’ve briefly considered it, but not…not really.”

“Why not?” Matt asks, curious. He places his pencil down on the table, realizing that the flow of his studying has been broken and he’s likely not going to get back into it for some time. “I think you’d be a great father.”

“Really?” Shiro looks surprised, giving Matt a pleased smile. “Thanks Matt. But I don’t know. It’s not like I have the greatest experience to draw on.”

Matt winces, knowing what Shiro is referring to.

Shiro had told Matt only once about his family situation. It had been late at night, and the two of them had been lying on the ground in the small wooded area behind Matt’s house, splitting a bottle of whisky in celebration of finishing their last exam for the semester. They were both well past tipsy, heading towards full-on drunk when Shiro had finally opened up about his less than stellar past with his parents and family, and why he never went home on the holidays. Matt listened, making encouraging noises whenever Shiro had started to lose steam, and reached out and squeezed Shiro’s hand when he started to cry.

They haven’t really talked about that night ever since, but Matt’s pretty sure that was the moment he fell in love with Shiro for the first time.

Matt knows better than to say anything though, both about his feelings and Shiro’s past, so he just reaches out across the table and pats Shiro’s shoulder. “Doesn’t matter,” Matt insists. “You’re a great person, and you would love your kid so much, no matter what.”

“I…I guess,” Shiro hedges. He’s staring at the picture again, and Matt can see the conflict in his eyes. Sighing, he does what any best friend would in this situation; change the subject before Shiro can get too melancholy.

“So what did you get for fourteen A?” he asks, pulling his notes over.

“Fourteen A?!” Shiro squawks. “You’re that far ahead already?!”

“Come on, Shiro, keep up!” Matt laughs, tapping his finger against the textbook. Grumbling, Shiro pulls it closer, getting back to work on his problem sets.

As silence descends upon them again, Matt can’t help but glance up at Shiro from time to time and think, _with you? Maybe I could._


	2. Chapter 2

He and the Galra girl stare at each other in shock, practically mirror images of each other. He’d stumbled into this little shop on the edge of an alien marketplace and ducked past when the old shopkeeper wasn’t looking, searching for some quiet place to feed Boo, but the area in the back that’s curtained off with draped silks is already occupied. Yellow eyes blink at him, practically at eye-level even though she’s seated and he’s standing, proving once again that everyone in the universe is taller than him.

In her arms she’s clutching a baby that looks even younger than Boo. The girl herself looks quite young as well, her tusks only barely peeking out from her lower lip, though Matt is no expert on Galra ages. He can see the remnants of a disguise – a heavy cloak similar to his own, a long trailing scarf, bandages – strewn across the boxes of the store’s stock.

“Oh no,” the girl whispers in horror.

He understands her fear, why she has a disguise. They’re on a neutral planet, one that’s only stayed neutral because any Galra that dare set foot on the surface are chased off or killed. Matt had heard this and immediately started looking into ways to get off-planet, but he’s stuck here until the cargo ships head out in the morning at least. He has no idea how this Galra girl came to be here, or why she’s here at all.

The baby in her arms starts to whine, but she’s frozen with fear. She clutches her baby closer, clawed fingers catching on the swaddling fabric.

And for some reason, instead of leaving or shouting for help or doing any sort of reasonable, _intelligent_ thing, Matt just blurts out, “You’re holding her wrong.”

The girl blinks at him, completely caught off guard. “What?” she asks, baffled.

Matt makes an awkward motion that might have been a shrug in another life, and gestures towards her baby. “You’re…not holding her right. Are you trying to nuzzle? You have to tuck her under your chin, otherwise you can strain your back bending down.”

The girl stares at him, unmoving, clearly too confused to do anything, and Matt lets out a little sigh. “Here, like this,” he says, and before he knows what he’s doing, he reaches out and shifts the baby in her arms so that she’s got her baby resting in the crook of one elbow with her chin pressed against the baby’s soft head, just like Messa had shown him a lifetime ago. A part of his mind is screaming at him, asking him what the hell he thinks he’s doing handling a Galra baby when the mother is right there and more than capable of ripping his head off with her bare hands. But most of his brain is just recalling Messa’s calm instructions as she carefully helped him shift Boo in his hold so that he was resting properly.

“There,” Matt says once the pair is settled to his liking. “That’s better.”

The girl keeps staring at him oddly as he backs off, but she’s less wary now. “How did you know how to do that?” she asks him cautiously. Her voice is soft and uncertain, and for the first time Matt isn’t afraid of a Galra. She just seems so lost, it’s hard to be scared of her.

Matt takes a seat on one of the crates spread throughout the storage area, pushing a roll of fabric aside to do so. In answer, he pulls Boo out of his sling, resting the baby on his knee. Boo blinks his golden eyes open, waking up from his nap, and lets out a happy gurgle at the sight of another Galra.

“Oh,” the girl says, as if that explains everything. It probably does. Matt’s pretty sure it’s common practice among the Galra to take alien slaves as nannies. Or at least, it’s not unheard of.

“What about you?” Matt doesn’t look at her, keeping his eyes fixed on Boo as he bounces the baby up and down on his knee. “What’s your story?”

Boo’s giggles are like a balm to his heart, and he can’t help but smile at the baby’s joy. The other baby looks over at the sound of Boo’s laughter, watching with wide eyes, but is otherwise silent. The girl nuzzles her baby’s head absentmindedly, watching Matt just as closely as her daughter is watching Boo. “I’d rather not talk about it,” she mutters, her eyes narrowed.

Matt doesn’t press. He can probably imagine what happened, anyways. Based on how young she is, he’s guessing something along the lines of a teen pregnancy. Maybe she slept with someone she _really_ wasn’t supposed to, and she’d run away rather than deal with the consequences. He supposes it doesn’t really matter.

“Well, you probably shouldn’t stay here,” he offers eventually. “They’re not exactly fond of the Galra on this planet.”

She snarls, offended. “You think I don’t know that?” she snaps, showing off her stubby tusks. “Why do you think I’ve got a disguise? Believe me, as soon as I can, I’m leaving this place.”

“And go where?” Matt can’t help but ask, raising an eyebrow. “Do you even know? Do you have a plan?”

“Do _you_ _?”_ she shoots back.

“Touché,” Matt grumbles, because he really doesn’t.

“What?”

“I mean, you’re right. I don’t exactly have a plan either,” Matt confesses with a sigh. His shoulders slump, and he absently rubs his fingers along Boo’s fluffy ears, straightening out his fur. The Galra girl watches him warily, but eventually she sighs as well.

“I just…I heard that there’s a place for Galra like me that don’t want anything to do with the empire anymore. The Haven.” She stares down at her daughter, carefully avoiding Matt’s gaze. “I know it’s stupid. I don’t even know if it really exists, but…I have nowhere else to go.”

“That’s not stupid,” Matt says softly. She looks up at him in surprise, and he laughs ruefully. “At least it’s better than what _I’m_ doing. I just keep running and hoping I find something eventually. I haven’t got a plan at all.”

She stares at him thoughtfully, and then, ducking her head shyly, she suggests nonchalantly, “You could come with me, if you want. To try to find the Haven.”

Matt actually considers it for a split second, but the thought of being surrounded by nothing but Galra, even nice ones, sends a shudder through him. “Um, no. Thank you, but I don’t think that would be a good idea,” he tells her as gently as he can. She still wilts, her ears drooping sadly, but she doesn’t bring it up again.

They end up sitting together for a while. At first, Matt constantly has to bite back the urge to correct her when she holds the baby wrong, or when she nuzzles too hard, or when she can’t quite figure out what’s making her baby cry _this_ time. But after the third time she seems to miss that her baby needs changing, Matt huffs in frustration, sets Boo carefully down on the box beside him, and reaches across for the other baby.

“My god, did no one tell you how to take care of a baby when you got pregnant?” he snaps in exasperation as he shows her the baby’s wet bottom. He’s treated to bared teeth and a dark flush that spreads her face, and he realizes, _Oh. No, no one did_.

She is _very_ young, he suddenly understands. Too young to be out here alone, taking care of a child all by herself. She needs help, more help than he can possibly give her, but maybe he can do _something_.

“I…I could teach you a few things,” he offers tentatively as she takes her baby back. It strikes him how bizarre this is; that he, a completely different species to her and her baby, is teaching her how to take care of her own child. But when she struggles to even clean the baby’s bottom properly, he just accepts that his life is insane, and bumps her aside so he can show her how to do it correctly. Even though she bristles every time he interferes, he can see her sagging with relief out of the corner of his eye when she thinks he’s not looking.

He ends up spending the whole night with her, hiding behind piles of boxes the rare time the old shopkeeper comes by, and teaching her as much as he can about how to care for a Galra child. He can hear Messa practically speaking through him as he talks, and there’s a sour taste in the back of his throat as he thinks of his old master, but the Galra girl is soaking up everything he says like a sponge. Matt thinks it’s also kind of nice that Boo gets to hang out with someone his own age and species for once, although he and the other baby are far too young to do much more than gurgle and spit bubbles at each other.

In the morning he gathers up his things and bids the girl a goodbye.

“Good luck finding the Haven,” he whispers to her as he slips out through the side of the stall.

“Good luck to you, too,” she says, tired and wary, but giving him a little wave. “And thank you.” It’s more than he was expecting.

He’s halfway gone when he stops, turns back. “What’s your name?” he blurts out. He’s amazed he never thought to ask until now.

“Bree,” she tells him, chuckling. “And this is Dehnna”

“Good luck, Bree and Dehnna!” he says, and then he rushes out so he won’t miss his ride.

As he trudges onto the cargo ship that agreed to take him as a passenger to their next destination, Matt can’t help but hope that she and her baby make it to this ‘Haven’ okay. She’s a Galra, but she seemed so young and scared and alone. Matt can’t help but feel a kinship.

It’s not until they’ve already taken off that Matt realizes he never gave her his name.

~☆~

Ranok is not home when the riots begin.

Matt has just served dinner to Messa, who is watching him feed Boo with a small smile on her face, when her head suddenly whips up in alarm. Her ears flare out, and Matt knows she’s listening to sounds that his weaker human hearing can’t detect. Her eyes go wide.

“What is it?” he tries to ask, mangling the Galran words, but she hushes him before he can speak again.

“Something is wrong,” she says tersely, her lips pulling back to reveal sharp teeth. Her eyes keep darting towards the front door and then back to Boo. She stares at her baby for a moment in indecision, and then scoops him out of his baby chair, shoving him into Matt’s arms. Boo, who was in the middle of smearing food goo all over his face, lets out a little indignant squeal.

“What – ” Matt tries to ask, but she’s already hustling him towards the back of the house.

“Hush, no time,” she hisses. “Oh! I knew this would happen! This blasted planet is too close to those rebellion raid zones. I _told_ Ranok! I _told_ him it wasn’t safe, but _no_ , he said the promotion would be worth it!” She spits out a word that Matt doesn’t recognize, but suspects is a curse.

Matt has no idea what she’s talking about. Rebellion? Here? But he doesn’t have time to be confused, because Messa is shoving him into the small storage room of the house. In the back, there are a few tiny cupboards full of clothing, and she pulls one open and begins to empty it without pause. Matt has a sinking feeling he knows what’s about to happen.

Sure enough, she gestures into the cramped space. “Hurry, in here,” she orders, shoving the discarded clothing in a corner so that it won’t be obvious that someone has been in here. “This space is too tight for a Galra to hide, but you’re just small enough to fit. They shouldn’t think to look for you here in case…in case.”

Matt does not like the sound of that ‘in case’. For the first time, he realizes that maybe the Galra empire isn’t as all-powerful as he’d originally thought. That maybe there were outside forces at work here. For the first time, he dares to think of freedom.

But then Boo starts to fuss, and the fear in Messa’s eyes tell him that even if this Rebellion _were_ willing to spare him rather than shoot first and ask questions later, they probably wouldn’t hesitate to kill Boo in an instant. And that’s enough to force him into the tiny space of the cupboard with Boo in his arms, despite having to fold himself like a pretzel to fit. He gets inside not a moment too soon. There’s the sound of a distant explosion that even his human ears can detect, and Messa flinches.

“Stay here until either I or Ranok come for you,” she commands him, glaring at him until he wordlessly nods in understanding. And then she looks to Boo and her expression softens. Despite the rush of the moment, she takes a second to lean down and nuzzle Boo’s head. There is so little space in the cupboard that she ends up nuzzling Matt’s cheek at the same time, and Matt shivers a little at the sensation of her fur on his skin. She pulls back, staring at her son as if this is the last time she’ll ever see him, and then she wordlessly shuts the cupboard.

It’s dark inside with the door shut, and with no light to see Matt is forced to rely on his other senses. He listens as Messa’s footsteps trail away, and then there is a long period where there is nothing. Boo whimpers in his arms at one point, but Matt can’t move enough to offer any comfort. Thankfully, the darkness seems to sooth Boo into a nap, and soon the only sound Matt can hear is his own breathing echoing in the small space. Still, he is frozen, the fear in Messa’s eyes making him unwilling to risk moving.

Then, he hears it. A smashing sound. Shouting, cursing. More smashing. Messa’s voice rising into a roar that makes Matt shake in fear inside his tiny hiding place. The sounds of a fight ring out, people crying out in pain. It’s getting so loud, but is that because the attackers are shouting over each other, or are they getting closer?

Then, suddenly, a cut-off scream of pain. Even though he’s never heard her sound like that, Matt somehow knows it is Messa. After that it goes quiet, the battle over. Matt thinks he hears someone laughing, a nasty, cruel sound, and he feels sick to his stomach. His heart is pounding so loudly in his chest he’s amazed it hasn’t woken Boo up, but somehow miraculously the baby continues to sleep silently despite all the noise.

Matt stays perfectly still, listening to what’s happening outside. More voices he doesn’t recognize, followed by more smashing, crashing sounds. The voices are speaking in languages that Matt doesn’t understand, but they sound angry. And worse, they’re getting closer.

When he hears someone in the room just outside the cupboard, Matt swears his heart stops for a second in terror. There’s the sound of multiple footsteps, and then crashing and groaning as the items of the room are tossed around. He can hear the strangers talking to each other, and even though he can’t understand a word they’re saying, it sounds like they’re just hanging out at a café or meeting at the grocery store, not raiding and pillaging a house. It strikes him that these people don’t care at all about what they’re doing, that they’d kill him and Boo without a second’s pause. He squeezes his eyes shut and prays they don’t find him.

There is one horrifying moment where he feels someone brushing up right against the cupboard door, perhaps looking for the handle, but after only a few seconds of fumbling, the stranger seems to give it up as a bad job. Matt listens to them moving around the room for a few minutes more, and then the footsteps fade away, the sounds of the house being ransacked moving back towards the front of the building.

Even after the house has gone silent, Matt stays waiting in the cupboard for a long time.

Eventually, though, after what feels like hours but may have only been minutes, Matt can’t take it anymore. The air is too stale, and his legs are starting to seize from being trapped in this crumpled position for so long. He needs to move.

Besides, something tells him that Messa is not coming. Not anymore.

He pushes the cupboard door open painfully slowly. Inch by inch it cracks open, and he pauses every few seconds to listen for approaching voices, ready to slam the cupboard door closed again at the slightest sound. But nothing seems to be coming, and eventually the door is open enough for him to slip out.

He has to stand for a moment, leaning against the wall and wincing in pain as the blood rushes back down his legs. As he waits, shifting the still-sleeping Boo in his arms, he looks around at the devastation that’s been wrought on the room. Boxes have been smashed, tables overturned, clothing ripped and shredded. It’s hard to tell with debris spread everywhere, but Matt is pretty sure a few things are missing as well. He nudges at a pile with his toe and winces as a stack of beads is disturbed and spills out across the floor, sparkling in the darkened room as they roll like shooting stars across a night sky. Matt is very careful not to step on any as he finally makes his way out of the room.

The house creaks ominously as he tiptoes his way through it. He holds his breath and glances into each room as he passes, seeing the destruction of the storage room mimicked everywhere he goes. Nothing has been left untouched. Everything is wrecked.

Although he knows he’ll find her in the front of the house, Matt still takes the time to check every room for Messa, his mind unwilling to face reality just yet. But when he can’t find her in any of the bedrooms, the sitting rooms, the nursery, or the bathroom, he knows where he has to search. Swallowing thickly, he moves like a ghost through the halls, heading towards the front of the house.

When he spots her, he freezes, even though he’d already known. She is lying on her back in the middle of the floor, her legs splayed, one bent at an odd angle. There is a pool of red spreading out beneath her, and Matt can see a gaping wound on her chest, shiny in the dim light that spills in through the smashed front door. He is certain that she must already be dead, but then she takes in a wheezing breath, making the wound bubble and gurgle, and Matt has to fight down a wave of nausea as he approaches her on trembling feet.

“ _If they catch you, they will kill you_ ,” she tells him. “ _So don’t get caught_.” Her final command. The last he will ever obey. He watches her say goodbye to her son, watches her die, and even though he has never loved her like he loves Boo, will never love her, he still mourns for her. He still makes sure to be there with her, so she won’t be alone in the end.

He has no idea if Ranok is still alive. He somehow doubts it.

As he flees into the night, Boo clutched to his chest and Messa’s words echoing in his mind, it doesn’t occur to him that this is the first time he’s been truly free and alone since the night before they left for Kerberos.

~☆~

The first time Boo walks on his own, Matt cries. They’re in the middle of nowhere, on a planet that’s mostly savannah with pale blue grass, and Matt wishes that he has a camera so desperately so that he can capture the moment. Instead he steps forward and catches Boo when he trips after a few steps, and lifts Boo into the air and cheers. Boo giggles in pure glee, and it’s the happiest Matt can remember feeling in a long time.

~☆~

The first time Boo talks is less happy, because Boo’s first word is ‘up’ and it’s in English. Matt feels guilt like a stone in his stomach.

Talking with other aliens requires that Matt speaks Galran. It’s the universal language after all, and even if Matt’s accent is apparently horrible and he sometimes mixes up words, it’s not like he could communicate in English while speaking to aliens from another planet. But when he’s alone with Boo, he sticks to his birth language, and that’s apparently what Boo is picking up.

He briefly thinks about what this means, about how Boo is going to grow up without knowing his people’s language or culture or history. But it’s not like Matt can help it. Matt only knows what he’s seen or been told, and it’s not enough. He’s trying his best, but it’s not enough.

There’s nothing he can do, so he just swallows down his guilt and says, “Yes! Good job, Boo! Up!” And then he lifts Boo into the air and cheers. Boo squeals with delight and claps his chubby little hands, completely at peace with the world.

~☆~

The marketplace is just like any other that Matt has seen throughout the galaxy. The booths might be set up a bit differently, the wares varying and the shopkeepers of different species, but there’s just something about the atmosphere of the market that stays the same no matter where he goes. It’s all one big blur of shouting sellers and the scent of spices and riots of colour.

Matt’s only here to find a new sling for Boo. Boo has grown too big to be carried on Matt’s front now, so Matt’s been carrying him strapped to his back hidden under his cloak, but the ratty piece of fabric that Matt’s been using this whole time is starting to give. He needs something stronger.

He’s so focused on finding something that he’s hardly paying attention to the world around him, and almost misses them completely.

It’s the female’s shimmering hair that catches his attention first. It hangs long and wavy down her back, the pale colour a nice contrast against her dark skin, and Matt can’t help but look at her. She’s quite beautiful, even if he’s never really had a thing for women. She’s speaking to a small group in colourful armour, all of various heights and builds, most of them with their backs turned to Matt. He can’t hear what she’s saying from this far away across the market, but she has a serious expression on her face. Matt watches her for a moment and can’t help but smile slightly to himself; she sort of reminds him of his mom in a way.

That’s almost it. Matt almost moves on then, almost walks away without further thought. But then he locks eyes with the man standing next to the woman at the same moment he catches sight of Matt. And the world just stops.

“Shiro,” Matt breathes, his eyes going wide.

He has a split second to take the other man in. Shiro is too far away for Matt to see clearly, especially because his glasses are long gone and Matt’s a little short-sighted, but he’s pretty sure Rolo’s description is spot-on. He can see the shock of white hair on Shiro’s head, what looks like a scar across his face. And it’s hard to tell from a distance, but it looks like Shiro has bulked up significantly.

And then Shiro’s jaw drops open as he realizes what he’s seeing. The alien woman pauses, frowning in concern, and reaches out to touch Shiro’s shoulder, but he brushes her off. The rest of their group is turning now, looking for what caught Shiro’s attention, and Matt’s shocked to realize that they’re all human. How is that possible?

But then the one in blue shouts something and points at him, and suddenly everyone in the marketplace is looking straight at Matt. Sheer panic grips him.

_If they catch you, they will kill you,_ his brain screams at him, louder than ever before. His pulse is pounding in his ears and drowning out all other sounds. _So don’t get caught._

He’s running before he even knows what’s happening.

Boo makes a noise of distress on his back, but Matt doesn’t stop to check on him. He just bolts down a row of stalls, heading the opposite direction of the group, ducking under hanging curtains and leaping over piles of boxes strewn along the path. He hears someone shouting behind him, and it makes him run faster. He starts ducking through stalls instead of around them, zigzagging his path and trying to make it as difficult for his pursuers to catch him as possible.

Boo is crying, shopkeepers are yelling and swearing, someone keeps begging him to stop, Matt’s heartbeat is like thunder and it all swirls together into meaningless noise. He can only hear one thing.

_If they catch you, they will kill you. So don’t get caught._

He leaves the marketplace, rows of tightly packed stalls breaking open to a series of space docks with ships from various planets all lined up and waiting to deliver or pick up goods. There’s more space to run here, but there’s more space to get caught, so Matt doesn’t slow for a moment even though his lungs are on fire and he’s panting more than breathing.

He’s halfway across the dock when he feels the frayed fabric of Boo’s sling start to give, and he only has a split second to grab at the baby over his shoulder before the whole thing snaps. Boo screams in fear, but Matt has been on the run with Boo for months now. He shifts Boo into his arms with only a tiny hitch in his stride. It’s harder to run with Boo in his arms than on his back, but Matt doesn’t stop, just tightens his grip on Boo and keeps going.

There’s a tall white ship at the end of the docks, so much larger than the others that it dwarfs the next largest ship and leaves most of the docks in shadow. Matt aims for it, hoping that he might be able to duck behind it and get lost in the darkness. He can’t run forever, but he’s become very good at hiding. All he needs to do is break their line of sight for a second, and he’s gone.

But just as he reaches the ship, it opens, and a man with a thick moustache and hair even redder than Matt’s steps down and stands immediately in his way with arms spread, bracing himself. Matt has no time to stop. Only time to twist himself so that he hits the man with his shoulder, protecting Boo with his own body.

The two of them go down in a heap, the moustachioed man grunting in pain as he takes the brunt of the fall. But before Matt can even recover from the hit, the man’s surprisingly strong arms are wrapping around him, pinning him in place, and the man is shouting, “I’ve got ‘im, Princess! I’ve got ‘im!” There’s the crackle of a communicator, and a woman’s accented voice praising the man on a good job.

And Matt just…slumps. All of the fight goes out of him in a moment, and he is suddenly so exhausted he can barely think. It’s over. He’s been caught.

Tears prick at his eyes and he clutches Boo closer, burying his head in Boo’s soft hair. He’s failed Boo, he’s broken his promise to keep Boo safe. Boo is wailing, his little fists clutching at Matt’s chest so hard that his tiny little claws are digging into Matt’s skin, but Matt can do nothing to comfort him.

The man beneath him starts to shift, trying to get up without letting go of Matt. Matt just lets himself be manhandled however the moustachioed man wants, until they’re both kneeling on the ground, the man’s hands on his shoulders, Matt’s head bowed and his whole body shaking with sobs.

“Oh no, why are you crying?” the man asks, catching sight of Matt’s tears. His voice is surprisingly gentle, considering how boisterously he’d been shouting a moment ago. A finger slips under Matt’s chin and lifts his head up so that the man can look at him. “Did I hurt you?”

“N-no,” Matt sniffles. He _is_ sore, but he can tell that nothing’s been seriously hurt. Besides, he’s had way worse as a slave. “Not me, anyways.”

The man draws in a sharp breath when Matt uncurls enough to reveal Boo, who is gripping his shirt and whimpering. Matt rubs his hands over Boo’s back, head, limbs, looking for any damage, heedless of the man’s stare. When he finds no bumps, bruises, or blood, Matt dares to sag in relief. Boo is shaken up, but unharmed.

“And who’s this?” The man surprises him by still speaking to him so gently, like he’s a wild animal about to bolt. Matt supposes the analogy isn’t _that_ far off. But what really throws him off is how the man is watching Boo not with suspicion or fear, but with a kind of sad fondness. It catches Matt completely off guard, and makes him choke for a second.

“Um, this is…this is Boo,” he whispers, nuzzling the top of Boo’s head to calm him. Boo is still upset, but he’s growing quieter now that all the running and noise is over.

“I take it this little tyke is why you decided to run away like a Breevian Boltbird?” he chuckles.

“I…don’t know what that is,” Matt admits slowly, “But yes. I…I don’t want anyone to hurt him.”

The man’s eyes soften, and he gives Matt’s shoulder a little squeeze. “Well, don’t you worry. You’re with Voltron, now. We’ll keep you _both_ safe,” he says seriously.

_Voltron._ Matt should have known, Rolo had _said_ Shiro was a part of this team Voltron now, but it still sends a little thrill of fear down Matt’s spine. “Even though he’s a Galra?” Matt can’t help but ask.

“Matt!”

The man doesn’t get a chance to answer him, because at that moment, the group catches up to them, with Shiro in the lead. Most of them slow to a stop, but the one in green launches themself at Matt without pause, nearly knocking him over. Only a quick catch from the moustachioed man saves Matt, Boo, and this new person from crashing to the ground.

“Matt! Matt, oh my god, _Matt!”_ the person in green is crying, and it takes a second for Matt to recognize the voice because it’s been so long.

“ _Katie?!_ ” he gasps, even more shocked than when he saw Shiro. “What the _hell_ are you _doing here_?!”

Katie doesn’t answer him, she’s crying too hard, and Matt can’t ask again because _he’s_ crying too hard and then they’re both clutching each other and rocking back and forth and crying. Even though they’re in the middle of a crowded space dock, and there are people everywhere around them watching them make a scene, Matt can’t bring himself to care. He never thought he’d see his little sister again, and by some miracle she’s here, and he’s pretty sure he can be forgiven for having a little bit of a meltdown after everything he’s been through, okay?

He can feel the rest of the group surrounding them, protecting them from onlookers, and although he has no idea who half of these people are or how the hell they got here, Matt can’t help but feel safe for the first time in far too long.

~☆~

(“Here,” Katie – no, _Pidge_ , it’s Pidge now, she’s going by her old nickname – says as she hands him the glasses she was wearing. “I kind of stole your spares as a disguise.”

“Yeah, because _no one_ would recognize you when you wear my clothes, my glasses, and cut your hair like mine,” Matt points out sarcastically with a roll of his eyes. “Well,” Matt hedges, tugging on his hair that now hangs down almost to his shoulders. “Maybe not exactly like mine.”

Still, he takes the glasses and puts them on, almost sighing in relief as the world comes back into focus. He has a very weak prescription, probably why Ka – _Pidge_ was able to get away with wearing them for so long, but he still hates how things in the distance look fuzzy and faint.

Pidge ignores his comments, checking him over critically. Matt glances down at himself as well, checking out his new clothes that Coran had found for him somewhere in the castle. The Altean-style clothing feels a bit odd after so long wearing Galran slave garments, but they mostly fit and they’re in-tact, and most importantly they’re clean. Matt is not going to complain. They also have the added benefit of hooking him into the castle’s universal translator; no more garbled Galran for him, thank heaven.

“Matt…” Pidge rests a tentative hand on his arm.

Pidge was never a very touchy-feely person growing up, but she’s become much more tactile since they found him. Matt has grown more comfortable with physical contact ever since he was given Boo to take care of, which involves lots of cuddling and nuzzling, but he still sometimes flinches if the contact is unexpected. But he carefully holds himself still as Pidge leans forward, resting her head against his shoulder, and slumps against him.

“I thought I’d never see you again,” she whispers.

He brings his arms up slowly, noticing how thin they look wrapped around her shoulders. She’s younger, shorter than him, but his time as a prisoner has made him small and slim compared to the muscle she’s gained. She’d cried the first time she’d seen him with his shirt off, when his old ratty cloak had finally been tugged off of his back. Every single rib had been visible, his skin dotted with scars and old wounds.

“I’m here,” he whispers back, reassuring himself just as much as her.)

~☆~

(“I’m here,” he croons against Boo’s head as the baby cries and cries and cries. Boo’s mother is dead. It’s all Matt can do. “I’m here.”)

~☆~

It takes him far too long to realize that he hasn’t really talked to Shiro yet. Some of that can be blamed on Boo. Although the baby is as sweet and cuddly as usual, he’s also a little bit wary of all of these strange new people. It doesn’t help that the paladins, especially Keith and Lance, aren’t used to having to keep their voices down around Boo’s sensitive hearing. More than once Matt has to step out of the room with a crying baby because Lance has picked a fight and their shouting has freaked Boo out.

“You know, I could keep an eye on the little tyke for a while,” Coran offers over breakfast a few days after Matt has been brought aboard the Castle of Lions. It’s been relatively peaceful, no Galra attacks or skirmishes, but Matt is still exhausted because Boo’s tusks are starting to come in and he’s constantly crying.

Matt looks up from where he’s trying to feed Boo some protein strips that the Castle of Lions’ kitchen has managed to cough up. The others, including Allura, have already headed off to the training room for the day to work on their teamwork or something, but he and Coran are taking their time with their meal. Matt stares at Coran consideringly, and then turns back to Boo. No one has actually said it, but he’s pretty sure that Coran was a father…once. He tries not to think about it.

“I…no. Thank you, but no. Boo’s fussy enough right now as it is,” Matt tries to explain. It’s weak, and he knows Coran can see right through him, but he doesn’t press the issue. Matt is pathetically grateful.

But that’s the reason it’s only partially Boo’s fault that Matt hasn’t talked to Shiro yet. Matt knows that if he _really_ wanted to, he could let Coran handle Boo for a little while. Although Matt is still a little jumpy around the princess, and he wouldn’t trust _any_ of the younger paladins with a melon, let alone a baby, he knows by now that Coran would take good care of Boo. But Matt is too afraid to talk to Shiro. Every time he looks across the table and sees the other man watching him he just…can’t. He _can’t_. So he hides behind Boo like the coward he is.

Shiro just gives him these long, searching looks when they cross paths in the halls or see each other in the common areas, but he never tries to talk to Matt either. So maybe they’re both cowards.

The decision is taken from him one night by none other than Allura.

She finds him in the kitchen in the middle of the ship’s sleep cycle, bouncing a wailing Boo in his arms, trying to calm the baby down. Boo is _not_ cooperating, though, his cries only getting louder and louder despite everything Matt has tried. He’s not wet, he’s not hungry, Matt’s checked for fever and chill _twice_ , but nothing he’s doing is working.

He doesn’t hear Allura enter the room over Boo’s cries, but he spots her out of the corner of his eye as she approaches. He winces apologetically.

“I’m sorry, did we wake you?” he asks, pitching his voice to be heard over Boo’s cries. He’s still awkward around her; there’s something about her that’s just a bit too ethereal for him, too _alien_. But he’s trying.

She gives him a tired smile, shaking her head. She’s in her nightgown, but her hair is somehow still perfectly styled, so he knows that either she’s been up for a while, or she never went to bed at all. “No, you didn’t wake me,” she tells him. “I was already up. I was just on my way to get a light snack when I heard the commotion.”

“Ah.” Matt isn’t sure what to say next. He knows that Allura lost her people, lost _everything_ to the Galra. She has more reason to hate them than anyone. But she didn’t turn Boo away when they brought Matt on board, and she’s never made him feel anything less than welcome. Still, she’s hard to read, and Matt sometimes wonders if she wishes they’d never found him.

He goes back to trying to calm Boo while she digs around for something to eat. He’s essentially forgotten all about her, too absorbed in rubbing Boo’s back and nuzzling his head to really be paying attention, which is why he jolts in surprise when he suddenly feels her hand on his shoulder.

“Here,” she sighs. “Let me try something.” And as he watches in shock, her skin suddenly shifts from a rich brown to a deep purple, her body stretching until she’s as tall as a Galra. Matt gapes at her, stunned. Even Boo has grown quiet, his yellow eyes fixed on her.

“Give him to me,” she orders him calmly, holding out her arms towards him. Matt is helpless to resist, his brain still trying to react to what he’s seen. Boo whines a little when he’s handed over, but then Allura presses her softly-furred cheek to his head and starts humming a song. Like magic, Boo settles.

“There, he probably just needed something a little bit familiar,” Allura says as she continues to nuzzle against Boo’s forehead. “I know Galra nuzzle each other to show comfort and affection. Am I doing this right?”

“Y-yes,” Matt stutters, brain finally rebooting. “Uh, yeah, that’s…that’s it. On the top of his head, and more on the sides.” She follows his directions carefully, looking slightly awkward but willing to try. Together, the two of them manage to get Boo to sleep.

When he’s sure Boo is completely out, Matt holds out his arms for the baby. But Allura only smiles at him.

“It’s alright, Matt,” she says. “I can hang on to him for a little while. Probably best not to move him and wake him, after all.”

“Maybe…” Matt agrees reluctantly. Although he’s a little bit nervous about Allura holding Boo, she’s shown no signs of discomfort, and he _really_ doesn’t want to deal with Boo crying anymore.

“Besides, I think there’s something you need to do,” Allura says meaningfully, her eyes flicking towards the doorway. Matt looks over, but there’s nothing there. He looks back at her, confused, and she sighs and shakes her head. “When I was on my way down here, I passed by the bridge. Shiro was there.”

Butterflies appear in Matt’s stomach. “O-oh,” he chokes out. “Was he?”

“Yes.” She gives him a hard look. “Why don’t you go speak to him? The two of us will wait here for you.”

“I…but,” Matt looks at Boo sleeping peacefully in her arms, and hesitates. If he leaves, it’ll be the first time Boo has been out of his sight for more than a few minutes since before the attack on the Galra settlement.

“Go,” Allura insists, punctuating her statement with a gentle shove. “I promise, if anything comes up, I’ll call you. But I’m pretty sure he’ll sleep for a while, so you have time.  _Go._ ”

And so he does.

He’s still getting used to the layout of the castleship, but the bridge is easy enough to find for anyone with rudimentary knowledge of spaceships. Matt stumbles into the darkened space only a short time after leaving the kitchen, glancing around for any sign of Shiro. The bridge has been powered down, the only lights the dim blue strips along the edges of the room, and the vastness of space stretches out ahead, visible through the window.

Matt sees Shiro when he takes a few tentative steps into the bridge proper. Shiro is standing in front of the window, his back ramrod straight and his arms crossed, staring out at the stars passing by. Or at least, that’s what it looks like. Matt’s pretty sure Shiro’s not seeing anything in front of him right now.

His foot scuffs against the ground, and Shiro spins around so fast Matt worries he might hurt himself. They both freeze, standing across from each other in the darkened room. Shiro’s eyes are wide with fear, even when they register who it is, and Matt catches this little hitch in his breathing.

All at once, Matt realizes that Shiro has been just as afraid of speaking to him as Matt was, and somehow that immediately makes all of Matt’s anxiety vanish. Matt remembers now that whenever they were together meeting someone new, it was always Matt who spoke first, Shiro hanging shyly in the background. Shiro, bless his little heart, had always been too nervous to start conversations. Even after Kerberos and the Galra and everything else, why would that change?

He finds himself giving Shiro an amused smile. “Hey,” he greets Shiro quietly, making his way across the bridge. Shiro seems to grow more tense with every step he takes, but he doesn’t run. Matt takes that as a good sign.

“Hey, Matt,” Shiro returns, equally quiet. Everything about him is wary, anxious. “Where’s the baby?”

“Allura is keeping an eye on him for me,” Matt explains with a shrug. He tries to keep himself as calm and casual as possible. He doesn’t want to set Shiro off when he already looks like he’s on a hair trigger. “It’s actually nice to have a break for once.”

“I see,” Shiro murmurs.

They go quiet again. Matt takes the opportunity to stand a little closer to Shiro, under the guise of getting a better view of the stars. He feels Shiro stiffen when their arms brush, but he relaxes again a moment later.

“So,” Matt says into the silence, keeping his eyes fixed on the stars.

“…So,” Shiro echoes, his voice strained.

“I missed you,” Matt confesses, easy as breathing. It’s a good place to start. The truth. “I thought you were dead, after you got taken into the ring. You wouldn’t believe how happy I was when I found out you’d survived.”

Shiro winces, but doesn’t say anything, which catches Matt’s attention. Something he said upset Shiro, but Matt’s not quite sure what. So he just continues, hoping that he’ll hit on something soon.

“I had already run away with Boo at that point.” He briefly tells his story, glossing over the more unpleasant details. “Ran into someone named Rolo, he was the one who told me. Do you remember him?”

“Yes,” Shiro admits, sounding a bit rueful. But not upset, which is good. “It wasn’t one of our best moments. They tricked us and nearly stole Lance’s lion.”

“I know, they told us all about it.” Matt grins and bumps Shiro’s shoulder with his own, and then has to fight back a wince. He’d forgotten that one of Shiro’s arms was metal now, and a lot harder than before. “I’m sure it wasn’t as embarrassing as they made it out to be, though,” he teases, hoping Shiro doesn’t notice him rubbing furtively at his new bruise.

Shiro groans, and Matt laughs at him. For a moment, it’s like they were back at the Garrison, and Matt is heckling Shiro about yet another embarrassing story, sitting in the library surrounded by their homework and not a care in the world. But then Shiro sighs and starts rubbing at the scar across the bridge of his nose, and the mood instantly sobers.

“Shiro? What’s wrong?” Matt decides the direct route is probably the best. He has no idea what Shiro has been through since they’d been separated, and without that knowledge his careful prompting will be like poking at a minefield. Best to be up front about everything. He reaches up and places a hand on Shiro’s shoulder, absently noting how thin and bony his fingers look splayed across Shiro’s thick muscle. “Please.”

“I...” Shiro won’t look at him, turning away and brushing Matt’s hand off. Matt stands his ground, though. He isn’t leaving until he gets answers.

“Shiro,” he repeats more firmly. “Please. Tell me what’s wrong.”

“I…I left you!” Shiro explodes, whirling around so fast that Matt jumps back in surprise. “I hurt you and injured you and left you and just…gave up on you! Pidge has been searching for you since the moment we went missing, but me? I haven’t even tried! I didn’t even _think_ of looking for you. I’ve even _stopped_ Pidge from trying to find you when I thought it would interfere with the mission! It’s like…I abandoned you! How can you - !” Shiro cuts himself off, turning away just as abruptly as he had when he’d started his tirade. Suddenly his shoulders drop, whatever energy sustaining him before leaving him in a rush. “I completely let you down, Matt,” he whispers, sounding tired and defeated, swimming in guilt. “How can I face you after that?”

Matt only hesitates long enough to decide on what he wants to do. And then, he acts. Shiro hisses through his teeth in surprise as Matt flings himself against Shiro’s back, wrapping his arms around Shiro from behind and burying his face in between Shiro’s shoulder blades.

“Matt,” Shiro murmurs, forlorn.

“Shiro.” Matt only lifts his face up enough to make sure he’ll be heard, his cheek still pressed against the warm expanse of Shiro’s back. “Listen to me. I don’t care. I get it, okay? I’m just as guilty of abandoning you.”

Shiro twitches in surprise. “What?”

“I knew you were alive for _months,_ but I didn’t seek you out because I had Boo,” Matt confesses. He can feel each time Shiro inhales, he’s pressed so tightly against him, his body heat seeping through the thin cotton of his shirt to seep into Matt’s skin. “Because I was scared for Boo. I _knew_ you’d never hurt me, but Boo…I didn’t know.”

Shiro is so still it’s almost unnatural. When he does speak, Matt hears his voice as a low rumble from where his ear is pressed to Shiro’s back. “I would never hurt a child, Matt.” He sounds wounded.

“I know,” Matt says sadly. “I’m so sorry I ever believed you would. But I was scared. So scared, all the time. I was all alone and I had to keep Boo safe.”

“I guess we both kind of messed up,” Shiro sighs. His hands come up and clasp Matt’s which are clutching at Shiro’s chest.

“Yeah,” Matt agrees. Shiro slowly pulls Matt’s hands away from his shirt, but before Matt can feel too rejected, he turns in Matt’s hold and wraps his arms around Matt in a proper hug.

“I’m sorry, Matt.” Shiro buries his face in Matt’s long hair and squeezes him.

“I’m sorry too.” Matt squeezes back, enjoying the feeling of having Shiro’s arms around him.

And then months of instincts built up from living with a Galra couple and taking care of their baby kicks in, and before he knows what he’s doing, he’s leaning up and nuzzling Shiro’s face. The moment he realizes what’s happening, he freezes, his cheek still pressed to Shiro’s, his eyes wide. Oh _god_ , what the _hell_ is he doing?

Shiro seems equally freaked out. “Uh, Matt?” he squirms, his hands spasming on Matt’s shoulders. “What are you doing?” His voice squeaks a little.

Matt hasn’t heard him sound anything less than completely in control since he’d been rescued, so hearing Shiro sound so flustered is very endearing. It’s enough to give him the confidence boost he needs to get past his embarrassment, to swallow it down and _think_ about what’s happening.

He has waited far too long for this moment. He’s been pining for Shiro for almost as long as they’ve known each other, and if there’s one thing he’s learned from his time out here in space, it’s that life is short. He thinks of the slaves he left behind, he thinks of the Galra girl forced to run away, he thinks of Rolo and Nyma trying to do the best they can with their second chance. He thinks of Messa bleeding out in her home, but still trying to smile for her son even through her pain.

Life is too short, too many bad things have happened, and Matt is tired of being afraid all of the time. He wants to be happy again. He wants to _try_.

“Nuzzling,” he explains simply, hoping Shiro can’t hear the way his voice is shaking. “It’s called nuzzling, and it’s how the Galra show affection.”

“I, uh.” Shiro swallows thickly. But he doesn’t pull away. “So, like. A hug?”

“No, like kissing,” Matt stops rubbing his cheek against Shiro’s and pulls back so he can look Shiro dead in the eye. His heart is pounding. Shiro’s eyes are wide in the darkness. He swallows and gathers his courage. “Want me to do that instead?” Matt asks bluntly.

He’s treated to the absolutely adorable view of Shiro’s face going bright red from the tips of his ears, all across his face, and right down his neck. “M-Matt!” Shiro yelps.

“I love you,” Matt tells him without fear or hesitation. He’s tired of hiding it, and he knows this is his chance. The sparkling void of space provides the perfect backdrop for his confession, the light of the stars catching in Shiro’s eyes as he stares down at Matt in shock. “I’ve loved you probably for years. And I never said anything, but I should have and so I’m saying it now. I love you. I really, really love you.”

There’s a long pause. Matt waits for Shiro to say something, to respond, but Shiro just stares at him helplessly, wordlessly. The silence stretches.

And all at once, Matt realizes exactly what he’s going to say. He realizes exactly what Shiro is thinking, and his heart breaks a little as he understands what this means.

This isn’t going to happen. Shiro doesn’t love him back.

“Oh,” he says, eyes dropping to the ground. The silence is damning.

“Matt…I…I don’t…I can’t…” Shiro trails off, completely stunned. His lips part just the tiniest bit, and Matt can see him struggling _so hard_ to find words.

So, swallowing down the pain, Matt holds up a finger to those lips, silencing Shiro before he can say anything else. He has a feeling anything Shiro could say would only make it hurt worse anyways.

“It’s okay,” he says, somehow. He has no idea how he manages to smile at Shiro, how he manages to keep his voice steady, but he does it. “I kind of figured out a long time ago that you weren’t really into dating people. And I can’t imagine recent events have changed that.” He laughs ruefully. “You’re also way too busy leading Voltron to be worried about relationship stuff. So, really, you don’t have to say anything. I get it. I just wanted you to know.”

And even though he hadn’t realised it until right now, it’s true. It hurts that it’s one-sided, but it’s actually kind of a relief to just put it out there in the open. It’s enough. It’ll have to be.

“I’m sorry, Matt,” Shiro says. He sounds miserable.

“It’s okay,” Matt repeats, letting his forehead drop against Shiro’s chest. His eyes slip closed for a moment and he squeezes them shut, willing the tears not to fall, willing himself to keep it together so that he doesn’t break down in front of Shiro. Only when he’s sure he won’t cry does he dare pull back.

“Anyways,” he says with false cheer, “I’ve probably left Boo with Allura for too long, I should go check on them.”

“Matt…” Shiro murmurs weakly. His expression is torn, and this was never what Matt wanted. So Matt reaches up and presses his hand to Shiro’s cheek. Shiro leans into the touch unconsciously, and it sends a little pang through Matt’s chest

“Shiro, really. It’s okay. I’ll be fine. And I promise, I forgive you. For _everything._ ” He gives Shiro a smile, prays it doesn’t look as fake as it feels, and then steps back, his fingertips brushing over Shiro’s lips as he breaks contact. Shiro’s arms fall away from his sides as he turns, and then Matt leaves the bridge without looking back.

By the time he finds Allura sitting with Boo in the lounge area just off of the kitchen, he’s managed to get himself back under control. His months of being on the run, constantly hunted have helped him craft a perfectly emotionless mask to better protect himself, and it slips easily back into place as he steps into the room and takes Boo carefully from her arms. It helps that Allura looks half asleep herself. The moment Boo is passed over, she yawns and stretches and returns back to her normal size and colour.

“Did you get a chance to talk to Shiro?” she asks him tiredly, completely unsuspecting.

“Yes,” he tells her, tucking Boo carefully under his chin. “We did. I think it helped clear the air a bit.”

“Good.” She smiles, looking pleased with herself.

“Was Boo okay?” Matt checks on the baby, but he’s dead to the world. Matt takes comfort in the feel of Boo’s soft fur against his chin.

“Yes, he slept the whole time,” she reports. “Not a peep out of him.”

“Good.”

“Well, it’s rather late,” she mentions, jerking her head towards the doorway. “Perhaps we should both be trying to get some sleep.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Matt agrees absently. He follows her out of the sitting room, heading for the wing of the castleship where they all sleep. As they reach the room that’s been designated his and Boo’s, Allura pauses, frowning.

“Matt, is everything alright?” she asks him hesitantly. “Forgive me, it’s just you seem kind of…quiet now. More so than usual, I mean.” Her eyes suddenly go wide and she flushes. “Not that it’s a bad thing! It’s just, I suppose I’m used to the other paladins and they never seem to shut up and, goodness that sounds awful of me, I don’t mean that they should _shut up_ , and I – ugh! I’m just trying to ask if you’re okay.”

In that moment, watching the princess awkwardly wring her hands and berate herself for saying too much, Matt realizes that he has no reason to be afraid of her. She’s beautiful and ethereal, yes, but she’s a person just like him. And she can have her awkward moments too. He surprises them both by laughing, and it doesn’t sound choked or bitter at all. It’s probably the first genuine laugh he’s had in a very long time.

“Thank you, Allura. For everything.” He shifts Boo to one arm so he can reach out and give Allura’s shoulder a pat with the other. She blinks at him in confusion, but eventually nods, grabbing Matt’s hand with her own and giving it a squeeze.

“Of course. If you need anything, just ask,” she tells him. And with that, they say their goodnights, and Allura heads off to her own room to sleep.

There’s a crib in Matt’s room for Boo, but he’s so used to sleeping with the baby that it hasn’t yet been used. This night is no different, and after getting ready for bed Matt crawls under the covers with Boo tucked up against his side.

Still, as he drifts off to sleep he’s surprised to find that his heart doesn’t hurt as much as he thought it would. It hurts, yes, but the memory of Allura’s warm hand on his own, her gentle smile, swims to Matt’s mind, and he thinks very fondly that it’s nice that at least _some_ people still care about him.


	3. Chapter 3

The first time Matt runs out of meat for Boo is the first time Matt steals.

Matt has been starving for days now. With so few supplies left, he’s been giving everything they have to the baby. But now they have nothing left, and Matt knows they’ll die if they don’t find something. And Boo needs plenty of protein to grow properly.

He’s not proud of himself as he sneaks into the hovel. The area he’s found himself in is run down and wretched, the people having little more than Matt himself. But they have more than Matt, and so he forces himself to slip through the cracked and broken doorway while the family inside sleeps. He raids their pantry, even though they have next to nothing, targeting this house in particular because he knows their species is carnivorous and will therefore have meat. He takes everything they have, hating himself the whole time.

But when he eats his first meal in three days, the tears running down his face are from relief, and he can’t bring himself to leave any of the food behind.

It is the first time he steals, but it won’t be the last. He’ll do whatever it takes to keep Boo and himself safe and alive.

~☆~

Things settle into a routine. Now that Matt has dared to let Boo out of his sight once, he feels comfortable doing it again. Coran is all too thrilled to pick up the slack, absolutely spoiling Boo rotten with games and toys the old Altean finds lying around the castle. He’s also started trying to teach Boo a few Galran words, although Matt’s not sure if he’s going to have much luck at this point, it’s nice that he’s trying.

Matt spends most of his Boo-free time with Pidge, catching up with her and reconnecting, though he ends up taking a shine to the Red Paladin as well. Something about Keith’s quiet demeanour calms Matt, and so whenever Pidge is busy or stressed, Matt seeks Keith out instead. The young man seems confused, but pleased by this development.

“Hey, Keith,” Matt says as he wanders into Red’s hangar. He’s still intimidated by the gigantic robotic lions that the paladins pilot, but he’s slightly less scared of Red and Green. Partially because they’re the smallest, partially because Pidge has sworn up and down that Green likes him because he’s her brother.

Keith is sitting on Red’s paw, talking quietly to her, looks up when Matt enters. “Oh, hey Matt.”

“Is it alright for me to be here?” Matt asks, even though Keith has told him over and over that he’s welcome. Matt remembers Hunk telling him about how finicky Red can sometimes be, and he doesn’t want to accidentally upset the temperamental machine.

Keith doesn’t answer, just pats the metal beside him. It takes a bit of coordinated effort to get Matt up on Red’s paw, but together they managed until they’re both sitting side-by-side, legs dangling over the edge, looking up at Red. They sit together in peaceful silence for a while, which is exactly what Matt needs right now. Boo has finally gone down for a nap, but before that he was racing all around on chubby little feet, crawling when he stumbled, and generally getting into everything. Matt is exhausted just trying to keep up with the kid.

Keith seems to catch on to his exhaustion, because he scoots a bit closer, letting Matt rest his head on Keith’s shoulder. Matt groans as he slumps against Keith, feeling his back ache.

“I’m too young to be feeling like this,” he grumbles, making Keith laugh. It’s a nice laugh, quiet but firm, and Matt’s kind of pleased with himself. From what he’s heard from the others, Keith doesn’t laugh much.

“Lance said the exact same thing after training today,” Keith mentions. His hair is roughly the same length as Matt’s, and it brushes against Matt’s forehead when Keith rests his head on top of Matt. It’s a surprisingly intimate position, another strange allowance that Keith makes for him and no one else. He knows that he and Keith are a bit of an odd pair, and he’s not quite sure why Keith is so much more at ease with him than anyone else, but he’s not going to question it. Maybe Keith just sees him as less of a threat, with his frail body still recovering from slavery and a life on the run.

“Hey,” Keith speaks up after a while, and Matt starts; he’d been dropping off a little, despite how uncomfortable it is to sit for long periods on metal. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.”

“No, no, it’s fine,” Matt tells him, rubbing at his eyes. “I probably shouldn’t fall asleep now anyways. Boo’s dinner is soon.”

“Right….Um, listen,” Keith hedges, looking away and shifting uncomfortably. Matt perks up, intrigued. He’s never seen Keith like this before. Awkward around the others when they make some kind of joke or reference that he doesn’t understand, sure. But Matt has never seen Keith acting uncertain.

“What’s up?” Matt prompts him when Keith seems to hesitate, troubled.

“It’s just…did something happen with you and Shiro?” he blurts out. His fingers flex against Red’s paw, nails scratching at the metal nervously. “I mean, I know I probably shouldn’t ask, but…I’ve known Shiro for a long time. And I’ve never seen him like this. He’s been off in training lately, he’s been too quiet during meetings and meals. I don’t think anyone else has noticed, _yet_ , but to me it’s clear as day.”

Matt licks his lips, trying to fight down his own nerves. This has obviously been bothering Keith if he’s willing to bring it up, but at the same time, Matt _really_ doesn’t want to talk about it. “What makes you think I have something to do with it?”

Keith shrugs, carefully avoiding Matt’s eyes. “It started after we picked you up. I thought maybe it was just the shock of having you here, but everyone else has adjusted by now, and he’s still…off.”

The hangar is quiet as Matt tries to think of an answer. Keith is worried about Shiro, and that’s admirable, but there’s no way that Matt is going to tell him the truth, strange new friendship or not. Matt calmly looks up at Red, tracing the lines of her panels as he tries to think of what to say that wouldn’t be a blatant lie.

“I think…” Matt murmurs, studying the cut of Red’s jaws. “I think Shiro is just worried. That’s all.”

Keith scoffs, sceptical. “Shiro is always worried.”

“He’s under a lot of pressure, as your leader,” Matt points out gently. Keith flinches and has to concede Matt’s point. “And while I’m… _sure_ he’s happy to see me, I’m also pretty sure that me and Boo are just another factor he has to keep in mind from now on. He probably just needs a little bit more time to adjust to us, because he’s got to consider how this might affect the team. That’s all.”

“I guess,” Keith says, though he doesn’t sound convinced. “I just figured, he talked about you all the time back on Earth,” he adds, glancing at Matt out of the corner of his eye. “I thought he’d be happier, now that you’re here. But he just seems sad.”

Matt doesn’t know how to respond to that, so he doesn’t. The two of them sit in silence in the shadow of the Red Lion until it’s time for dinner.

Matt thinks he briefly sees Shiro standing in the doorway of the hangar, reflected in the metal of Red’s jaw, but when he turns to look there’s no one there.

~☆~

The first time Matt sees Voltron in action, he understands why some people claimed it was an Old God. Voltron sweeps through the Galra fleet like a hurricane, reaping destruction on everything in its path. Three massive battleships are gone in the time it takes Matt to blink, and Voltron is already zooming off to attack another squadron that dares to tangle with it.

Matt watches it all with wide eyes from the safety of the bridge, listening to Coran and Allura reporting on the battle and offering support when needed. Nothing gets remotely close to the Castle of Lions; Voltron destroys anything that tries with effortless ease. Nothing remains after Voltron has finished its work.

Matt is intimidated by the lions. He’s _terrified_ of Voltron.

He refuses to watch them fight ever again.

~☆~

“It’s over,” Allura announces, staring down the handful of Galra soldiers that haven’t surrendered. “Give up. You’ve lost.”

“Oh, have we?” the leader asks, smirking. He’s got his gun trained on the Altean princess, but she doesn’t flinch or hesitate for a moment. She can’t; there’s an entire village of people behind her, and if she moves it’ll be them in the line of fire. “You seem awfully sure of yourself for someone on the wrong end of a weapon.”

“Your settlement has been destroyed, and the Paladins of Voltron will be here any moment. How do you plan to fight them with your single ship?” She raises a challenging eyebrow, so confident that the other soldiers start to mutter amongst each other.

“Silence!” the leader roars, and the rest immediately stop talking. He glares at Allura, before giving her an evil grin. “Well, they’ll hardly dare attack our ship if they know _you’re_ aboard. After all, we heard what happened last time you were taken prisoner. If they’re willing to risk their lives against Zarkon himself to save you, they’ll definitely let us go to keep you alive.”

Allura doesn’t flinch, but she doesn’t speak either. She knows that he has a point. There’s a pause as she carefully weighs her options.

Behind her, hidden within the group of villagers, Matt and Coran both share a terrified glance. They both know Allura well enough now to guess what she’ll do.

“Allura, no!” Coran calls out, reaching towards her. “You can’t!”

“Will you leave these people alone?” Allura demands, ignoring Coran. The Galra leader just grins wider.

“Of course,” he says, sickly sweet. He even throws in a mocking bow for good measure. “Whatever her majesty desires.”

“…Very well,” Allura agrees, her eyes sliding shut in defeat. “Then I will go with you.”

“Princess!”

“Coran!” Allura cuts off Coran’s pleas ruthlessly, whirling around to face him. Her expression is firm, and there’s no tremble in her voice, but Matt can see the faintest shaking in her hands. “You must stay here until the paladins arrive. Protect the villagers. Make sure they stay safe.”

“But Princess!” Coran objects. “You can’t just – ”

“I can and I must,” she interrupts him again. “It is our duty to protect the people of this universe. Please, Coran,” her voice and expressions both soften. “I need to do this.”

Coran lets out a pained sound, but he offers no further protest. Allura turns back to face the Galra soldiers.

The leader squints at her, his tusks bared. “Are we all done with the theatrics, now?” he snarls, before gesturing with his gun. “Ranok, go secure the prisoner.”

“Yes, sir,” one of the soldiers grunts, and then he steps forward, reaching for Allura despite the mournful cries of Coran and the villagers.

But Matt doesn’t hear them because Matt is too busy focusing on what the leader just said.

“Ranok?” he whispers in shock. And then again, louder. “Ranok?!”

The soldier freezes. Everyone turns and looks at Matt, the villagers included, but Matt is too busy shoving his way towards the front of the crowd. It’s impossible, he was _sure_ Ranok was dead after the riots that had torn through the Galra settlement, but...

Matt bursts out in front of the crowd, coming to a stop right next to Allura, and looks up at the soldier. He’s wearing a helmet, so it’s hard to tell, but the bottom of the soldier’s face does look familiar.

The Galra soldier’s jaw drops open the moment he catches sight of Matt, and, ignoring the leader shouting at him to explain what the hell is going on, he reaches up and pulls of his helmet.

“My god,” Matt breathes, staring up at the face of his former master.

Ranok looks mostly the same, but he looks older, more worn down. His fur is pale and listless, and there’s a series of criss-crossing scars at his right temple that he didn’t have before. But otherwise he looks largely the same to Matt, emphasis on large. Lord, Matt has forgotten how big Ranok was.

“You,” Ranok squints down at him, yellow eyes flashing with rage. His face slowly morphs from shock to fury. “So _you_ survived, did you? What did you do, run the moment Messa was dead? Or did you stop and raid the house first?”

“Matt?” Allura calls out, confused. Matt can feel her at his shoulder, which is the only reason he’s still standing in the face of Ranok’s anger. It’s coming off of the Galra in waves, and Matt can feel his knees shaking in fear. But he can’t step away.

“What is the meaning of all this?!” the leader yells as he stomps up to them. “Ranok, what are you _doing_?!”

“This, this - ,” Ranok spits out a word that Matt doesn’t recognize, but he can guess from the tone that it’s nothing flattering, “left my wife and child to _die_ during the raids on our home! He just let them _die_!”

“Matt would never!” Coran shouts immediately, rushing up to stand beside them, though he likely has no idea what Ranok is referring to.

“What the hell does it matter, Ranok?” the leader growls, shoving at Ranok’s shoulder. “He’s just a slave, he’s not important! Let’s grab the Altean and _go_.”

“But – ” Matt tries to speak, only to be interrupted.

“Sir! I think I see the lions approaching!” one of the other soldiers calls out, sounding nervous.

“It _matters_ , sir, because my wife and child are _dead_ ,” Ranok hisses, whirling on his commander and shoving him back. “And it’s _his_ fault! This piece of trash is - ”

“You will _not_ speak to him that way,” Allura commands darkly, trying to hide Matt behind her.

“Wait! But I – ” Matt cries.

“I will speak to him however I deem fit! He’s _my_ slave!”

“Sir! The lions are right on top of us!”

“We need to _leave_ Ranok! Grab her or we’re leaving without you!”

“I’m not leaving! Not until he suffers for my wife and child!”

“ _Enough_!” Matt screams as loudly as he can. The group goes quiet, staring at him in shock. Even the villagers, who have been whispering among themselves in fear, are watching him. Panting, Matt glares up at Ranok.

“Listen to me. I am _not_ your slave, I am _not_ responsible for your wife’s death, and your son is _not dead.”_ He punctuates that last statement clearly to make sure they’re all listening. And only once he’s sure he has everyone’s attention does he pull the bundle off of his back, revealing Boo to the crowd.

Ranok gasps sharply, his eyes going wide. “W-what?”

Matt doesn’t have time to explain, because the lions are landing all around them. The Galra leader curses as Hunk lands Yellow directly on top of their ship, crunching it underneath her paws like an egg. The rest of the Galra start looking around in confusion, trying to find a way to escape, but Ranok’s eyes are fixed solely on the sleeping baby in Matt’s arms.

“How?” he breathes, reaching out towards Boo with shaking hands. There are tears gathering in his eyes.

“I hid in a cupboard with the baby when the attack happened. Messa fought them, tried to stop them from getting in, but…” He shook his head, dispelling the dark memories from his mind. Instinctively he started nuzzling Boo’s head for comfort. “Thankfully, none of the attackers thought to check the cupboards. Messa pointed out that they’d be too small for a normal Galra to hide in, so we’d be safe there. Then, after everyone was gone, I came out and…and I found her. She was…still alive, then.”

Ranok lets out a choked moan, a hand coming up to cover his mouth. Beside him, Matt hears Allura murmur something, perhaps meant in comfort, but he’s completely focused on Ranok now, making sure the Galra understands.

“She told me to get out, to run. She told me, i-if they caught me, they’d kill me. So don’t get caught,” Matt chokes on the familiar words. It’s been so long since the mantra has passed through his mind, but it still trips easily off of his tongue. Those words had kept him alive for so long, after all. “And then…I promised I’d protect your son.”

Matt looks Ranok directly in the eye, unflinching. His heart is beating a wild tempo against his ribs, but he will not look away. “And I kept my promise,” he says firmly. He hitches Boo higher in his arms.

The movement jars the baby, and Boo blinks awake, yawning. He looks up at Ranok towering over him, breaks out into a huge grin, and shrieks out the one Galra word that Coran and Matt have managed to teach him. “Daddy!”

Ranok draws in a sharp breath, eyes wide. And then he falls to his knees with a cry that makes Matt’s chest ache. He stays there, face pressed against the ground and howling, while everyone looks on. Matt can only imagine what they must look like; the huge hulking Galra soldier on his knees and sobbing before the weak skinny former slave with a baby held in his arms like something out of an icon. It’s a powerful image, and for a moment Matt _feels_ powerful. He has this man in the palm of his hand.

But then the moment passes, and pity takes its place. Matt can’t help but look at Boo, who is reaching out towards his father with his tiny clawed hands and making small yearning sounds. Matt’s breath catches as he realizes what Boo wants, and his arms automatically close tightly around Boo in denial, pulling him close and further away from Ranok before he can stop himself.

He stares down at Boo, feeling like he’s being ripped in half. Boo looks back, lower lip trembling, and then looks back at his father. He lets out a low whine that Matt has never heard him make before, still reaching out.

“No,” Matt whispers against Boo’s soft skin. “No, I can’t.”

But Boo just whimpers, completely focused on Ranok.

Matt hesitates still, every part of him screaming to just take the baby and run, run far away where no one will ever find them. But then he looks down at Ranok, the man crumpled on the ground before him, and he knows he can’t do that. Not to this man. Not to Boo.

He swallows down the lump in his throat, and forces himself to be brave one more time.

It hurts so much that Matt can barely breathe, but he falls to his knees before Ranok. “Here,” he murmurs, holding out Boo with shaking arms. “Take him. He’s missed you.”

Ranok stares up at Matt in naked wonder. And then, as if he expects Matt to pull the baby away at any moment, he slowly reaches out and takes Boo. The moment he has Boo in his grasp, he clutches the baby close, sobbing and nuzzling every inch of skin he can reach. Boo squeals in happiness, clutching at his father’s fur and blowing bubbles. Ranok curls around his son, weeping out, “ _Thank you, thank you, thank you_ ,” over and over, completely overwhelmed.

Matt watches them, his heart constricting in his chest, but he knows he’s done the right thing.

The rest of the Galra surrender pretty quickly after that. They know they’ve been defeated and that there’s no escape. Allura and Coran have a hurried discussion with the village leaders, before deciding that the villagers will keep the Galra prisoner on their little planet so that there’s no risk of any of them getting loose on the Castle of Lions and getting a hold of Voltron. It’s the best solution they can come up with, and no one looks pleased about it, but no one has any other suggestions either.

Matt misses most of this, however. He’s too busy watching Ranok and Boo reuniting. Although the rest of the Galra are being dragged off, their hands and feet bound, no one has dared approach them yet. Matt figures that no one would dare interrupt this moment, and he kind of appreciates that. He hasn’t said a word out loud since he handed over Boo, content to just act as witness, but he knows sooner or later someone will come for them.

Sure enough, after the rest of the Galra have been taken away, he hears footsteps approaching. A hand rests on his shoulder; he expects it to be Allura, maybe even Coran, but when he turns to look, it’s Shiro.

He looks down at Matt with a pained expression on his face. “Are you okay?” he asks, voice low.

“I…no, no I’m not,” Matt admits slowly, but he manages to give Shiro a watery smile anyways. “But I will be. This is the right thing to do.”

Shiro looks to Ranok, who is now cooing softly to Boo, tickling him under the chin and smiling at his son in wonder every time Boo lets out a little giggle. Matt watches them too, and he feels the smile on his face grow a little bit bigger, a little bit more real.

“What’s going to happen to him?” Matt murmurs, keeping his voice quiet so that Ranok can’t hear him. Though he doubts the Galra is paying attention to anything beyond Boo right now.

“We’re still talking about it,” Shiro reports, crossing his arms and taking on what Pidge had once called his ‘serious leader stance’. “We can’t just let him go, obviously. But no one really wants to lock him up and separate him from his child again. And we can’t lock up a baby.”

Matt thinks about it. He thinks of insectoid innkeepers willing to offer up a room to anyone with a child, he thinks of Rolo and Nyma trying to make up for past mistakes. He thinks of the countless places he’s been, the multitudes of people he’s met, and how it wasn’t _all_ bad. He remembers the Galra girl, and her talk of a Haven, and he gets an idea.

“We could let them go,” he offers, grabbing a handful of alien dirt and letting it run through his fingers, just to do something with his hands.

Shiro gives him an odd look. “What, just like that?”

“I don’t think he can go back to the empire now,” Matt explains. There is a small stone in the middle of the dirt, and he runs the pad of his thumb over the rough edges. “They’re…not exactly tolerant of failure. So I don’t think he’s a threat to us anymore. And…he could do it. He could survive out there, if he wanted to. I did.”

Shiro slowly nods, looking at Matt thoughtfully. “You did. You really did.” For some reason his words sound like more than just agreement. There’s weight to his statement, but Matt’s too tired to figure out what it means.

“I met another Galra on the run, when I was with Boo. She mentioned a place called ‘Haven’, where defectors from the empire can go,” Matt mentions. God, he hopes she found it. “Maybe he can make it there.”

“We’ll see,” Shiro says noncommittally, and that’s the best Matt can ask for.

Groaning, Matt starts to climb to his feet, but he’s been kneeling for so long that his legs have gone numb, and he stumbles. Before he can hit the ground, though, Shiro catches him, wrapping strong arms around him and lifting him up like Matt weighs nothing. Maybe to Shiro he doesn’t.

“Easy, Matt.” Shiro doesn’t let go until Matt’s feet are firmly on the ground, and even then he still keeps a hand on the small of Matt’s back. Matt is a bit confused, but he’s not willing to bring it up in case it makes Shiro step away. Shiro has been avoiding touching him ever since his confession, and Matt has to admit that he’s missed their former closeness.

“Look,” Shiro mutters once he’s sure Matt is steady. “I’m going to go talk to Allura, see what she thinks about all of this. After we get everything sorted out, can we…can we talk?”

His eyes burrow into Matt like needles, pinning him in place. Matt can’t seem to find his voice, so he just licks his lips and nods lightly. This seems to be enough for Shiro, because he pats Matt’s shoulder, and then walks off to where Allura and Coran are still speaking to the villagers. Matt watches him go, feeling oddly bereft.

“That was Champion, wasn’t it?”

Matt jumps and spins, yelping. He hadn’t heard Ranok come up behind him, despite the man’s large size, because he had been too focused on Shiro. Still, Matt glares at him like it’s the Galra’s fault he got startled.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Matt huffs. He absentmindedly adjusts the wrappings around Boo in Ranok’s arms, making sure the baby is snug, even though this is a relatively warm planet. He just can’t help it; he’s been taking care of Boo for so long it’s become second nature to him.

Ranok ignores his fussing, completely at ease with Matt around his son. But he glares at anyone who even looks in their direction, baring his teeth if they get too close. He’s paying especially close attention to Shiro, even though Shiro is nowhere near them anymore.

Matt is surprised out of checking Boo’s temperature for the third time when Ranok suddenly speaks up out of nowhere. “I owe you a great debt, human,” Ranok says seriously.

“O-oh, no, really,” Matt titters nervously. Although he’s not exactly _scared_ of Ranok anymore, he’s not thrilled to be around him either. “You don’t owe me anything.”

“You saved my son’s life. You protected him and kept him safe when I could not,” Ranok points out, raising an eyebrow.

Matt fidgets with the hem of his shirt, avoiding Ranok’s eye. “I guess,” he agrees reluctantly. “But you don’t owe me for that. He’s a baby; I wasn’t about to let anything happen to him.”

He lets out a little squeak when Ranok’s hand lands on his shoulder, the massive paw dwarfing him a bit. He manages to tilt his head up to look at Ranok’s face, and is stunned to see the man looking down at him with warmth and affection. Matt swallows thickly, noting how close Ranok’s claws were to his throat, but somehow he doesn’t feel threatened.

“Tell me,” Ranok commands, with the air of someone who is accustomed to others obeying him. “How can I repay you?”

Matt flounders for a moment, trying to insist that he wants nothing. But when Ranok’s expression doesn’t change, no matter what he says, he gives up and sighs. “Fine, you really want to make me happy?”

Ranok nods, waiting expectantly.

“Take good care of your son. Don’t let him grow up to be a killer. Teach him kindness, teach him compassion.” Ranok looks like he wants to protest, but Matt just gives him a hard stare, and his mouth snaps shut. Matt waits a moment more, making sure Ranok isn’t going to interrupt, and then he adds, “And if you happen to run into a Galra named Bree out there, tell her I say hi.”

“I will…do as you ask,” Ranok says reluctantly, grumbling. But then he looks down at Boo and his expression softens. Boo is babbling sleepily to himself in Ranok’s arms, a mixture of English, Galran, and what must be Altean words. The soldier looks back up to Matt. “I will do this. I swear it.”

And then, to Matt’s shock, he salutes Matt with his free hand as if Matt were his commanding officer. “Vrepit sa!” he shouts.

“V-vrepit sa,” Matt stutters back, struggling to mimic the salute. It’s sloppy and weak at best, but Ranok still bows his head respectfully.

“Vava sa!” Boo chants, waving a chubby fist in the air, his own little salute.

~☆~

Matt hasn’t forgotten Shiro’s request, but he’s not going out of his way to find him either. Considering the last time they’d talked one-on-one he’d had his heart ripped out and stomped on, he’s not really eager to repeat the experience. Still, Shiro seemed sincere when he asked Matt to talk, and Matt has never really been able to deny Shiro anything. So once everyone is safely back on board the Castle of Lions and they’re on their way again, Matt goes searching.

He finds Shiro in his room. The door slides open when he knocks, and Matt walks in to find Shiro towelling off his hair, fresh out of the shower. Matt freezes mid-step, catching sight of a lot of bare chest, and swallows around a suddenly dry throat.

“S-sorry!” Matt squeaks, quickly looking away. “The door just opened, I didn’t realize you were, uh, still getting dressed.” He inwardly curses himself for making this weird. It’s not like Shiro is naked, after all; he’s wearing pants. And this isn’t even the first time Matt has seen him shirtless. It’s just the first time Matt has seen Shiro shirtless since he was abducted by aliens and apparently gained forty pounds in sheer muscle mass. Good lord that was a lot of abs.

“It’s okay,” Shiro chuckles, “I was just cleaning up. The paladin armour is nice, but it can get pretty sweaty.”

“Right. That’s…that’s too bad.” Matt, still keeping his eyes firmly fixed on the wall to his left, wants to groan in frustration. What kind of comment was that? He sounds like an idiot!

For the first time in as long as Matt can remember being friends with Shiro, an awkward silence descends upon them. Matt can’t seem to look over at Shiro, who’s still not wearing a shirt, and Shiro seems to be completely absorbed in making sure he’s dried himself off completely, even though Matt’s pretty sure he’s rubbed himself down twice. Neither of them seems to know what to say, which is so unlike them that Matt kind of wants to cry. He almost wishes that he’d never said anything about his feelings, but he knows that’s not the only reason that he and Shiro’s relationship is different now. There’s just too much between them now.

“So, um,” Matt eventually chokes out. He wants to leave, but he came here for a reason, so he might as well get this over with. “You said you wanted to talk to me?”

“Um, yes. I did,” Shiro says, sounding just as uncertain as Matt feels. “I just wanted to, um. That is – It’s just – ” He lets out an explosive huff, and suddenly he’s across the room with his hands on Matt’s shoulders. “God, Matt, can you please just look at me?”

There is no way Matt could resist. He looks up at Shiro, eyes wide. Shiro is looking back at him, his brow furrowed in a look of pain, and his grip on Matt’s shoulders so tight it’s almost painful. This is the closest they’ve been to each other in far too long, and Matt can’t help but take advantage of their proximity to study Shiro properly now that there’s decent lighting. The scar across the bridge of his nose stands out shiny and pink against his now-paler skin, and there are bags under his eyes that show he hasn’t been sleeping, but to Matt he’s still as beautiful as the first day they met. Even though he knows it’s not going to happen, that Shiro doesn’t want it, he yearns to just lean forward that last little bit and press their lips together.

Shiro must recognize what he’s thinking, because he catches Matt’s eye and blushes. He awkwardly clears his throat, the fingers of his flesh hand spasming for a second against Matt’s shoulder. “Matt, I, um. Wanted to talk to you about something.”

“I…kind of figured,” Matt says slowly, confused. Why is Shiro so nervous? He’s never had an issue speaking with Matt before. Then again, he’s never known about Matt’s crush before. Maybe he’s trying to tell Matt that he is too uncomfortable with knowing about Matt’s feelings, and that they shouldn’t be friends anymore?

As soon as the thought crosses his mind, Matt dismisses it. Shiro isn’t cruel like that, and he certainly would never stop being friends with someone over something so silly. Matt has watched plenty of people fawning over Shiro in school, and he managed to artfully dodge their advances while still maintaining a friendly attitude. Even though it’s Matt who is doing the fawning this time – well, Matt isn’t really _fawning_ per se, he is perfectly capable of _some_ self-control, thank you very much – Shiro should still be able to handle himself just fine.

Of course, that makes Matt think of _another_ reason Shiro might be nervous…he quickly squashes the small flicker of hope building in his chest before it can grow too big. Those thoughts just lead to more heartache, and he isn’t in the mood to deal with it today, not when he’s already hurting from parting with Boo.

“So what exactly did you want to talk about?” Matt prompts when he sees that Shiro is still just staring at him.

He’s further baffled when Shiro actually _giggles_ , a nervous sound that Matt has never heard him make. Shiro’s metal arm comes up to rub at the bridge of his nose. “Um, maybe we should…sit?”

Matt is basically starting to wonder if one of them is on drugs, but he dutifully takes a seat on Shiro’s bed. Shiro sits down next to him, making the mattress shift and almost making Matt topple over, but he manages to catch himself on his hands. Now that they’re not facing each other, Shiro seems to be relaxing a bit.

“First, I just wanted to ask if you were okay?” Shiro begins. His hand rests on the bedcovers right next to Matt’s, so close their pinkies are brushing. “I know how hard it must have been to give Boo away like that.”

Matt shrugs, scuffing his toes against the floor. “I’m…I’m okay,” he says slowly. “Well, not completely okay, but I’m getting better. It’s weird, not having him here anymore, but…it’s better for Boo. He needs to be with his family.”

“That’s a good point,” Shiro agrees gently. “You made both of them really happy.”

“Yeah. So, I guess it hurts, but I still know I did the right thing, you know?”

“So you’re saying you did the right thing, not the easy thing,” Shiro paraphrases, looking over and giving Matt such a warm smile that it makes Matt’s breath hitch in his chest for a moment. “That’s so like you, Matt.”

Matt ducks his head, blushing. “Oh come on, no it’s not.”

“Yes it is,” Shiro says, surprisingly strong and firm. Matt can’t help but look back up, caught off guard. Shiro has a pinched expression on his face. “That’s exactly like you. You always do what’s right, even when you know it’s going to hurt you. Like that time you let that girl in our class do her project on space, even though I knew you really wanted to do that topic. Or when you spent every weekend studying with me for calculus although you’d already finished the homework and there was so much more you could have been doing. Or when you…” Shiro trails off for a moment, hesitating. But then he takes a deep breath to fortify himself and continues. “When you told me you l-loved me, even though you knew I couldn’t…I wasn’t…”

Seeing Shiro struggle, Matt reaches up and places his hand on Shiro’s arm for comfort. “Shiro…” he says sadly. “It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not!” Shiro snaps, though there’s barely any heat to it. His hands are grasping the bedspread so tightly Matt’s worried for a moment it might tear.

“I just…you deserve better,” Shiro chokes out. “You deserve someone who isn’t a mess, someone who’s not missing half their memories and wakes up screaming most nights, someone who actually knows what they want and has the balls to go for it. Someone who actually has their act together and doesn’t miss their one stupid chance at happiness when it’s practically handed to them on a platter because they’re worried that they don’t deserve it and that they’re going to ruin it like everything else. You deserve…God, Matt. You deserve _everything_.”

Matt is too stunned to speak. He’s too stunned to _breathe_.

“So, I guess what I wanted to say is that I’m happy you found someone like that,” Shiro bites out through clenched teeth. “Because you deserve it, because I really want you to be happy. And Keith’s a great guy, he’ll be good for you, I think. He can be a bit hot-headed, sometimes, but not as much as you’d – ”

“Wait, what?” Matt blurts out, cutting Shiro off. “What the hell?!”

“No, really! He’s actually calm most of the time!”

“No, no, no, not that!” Matt leans back so that he can stare at Shiro incredulously. “Why the hell are we even talking about Keith?”

“Because…you’re dating?” Shiro looks very lost and scared all of the sudden. “I mean. Aren’t you?”

“… _no!”_ This is _not_ the conversation Matt thought he’d be having right now. There is no way he could have anticipated this being what Shiro wanted to talk about. “Where the hell did you get that idea?!”

“You – you’ve been spending so much time with him lately!” Shiro quickly explained, completely flustered now. “And I saw you cuddling in Red’s hangar the other day! I kind of thought that meant…” He shrugs weakly and gives Matt a sheepish look.

“No, we are _not_ dating,” Matt firmly tells him. “I like hanging out with Keith because he’s calm and quiet, unlike the others, and large groups kind of still freak me out sometimes. Honestly, I was spending so much time with him because he reminded me of _you_.” He can’t help but poke Shiro in the chest teasingly.

“And the cuddling?” Shiro can’t help but ask, grasping at straws.

“I think Keith’s actually a pretty tactile person, but he’s too shy to actually act on it. If you make the first move, though, he won’t pull away.”

“Oh,” Shiro says in a small voice. “So you’re _not_ dating Keith?”

Matt laughs and shakes his head. “No. Keith’s a great guy, but no.”

“Oh. Okay.”

They fall back into silence, sitting side by side on the bed and staring down at the floor. But Matt can’t help but replay their entire conversation over in his head, and one thing keeps catching his attention.

“Shiro,” he calls out softly, tentative. When Shiro perks up, shows he’s listening, Matt shifts so he’s more comfortable, and continues. “What did you mean by ‘someone who missed their chance’?”

Shiro goes stiff next to him, and doesn’t answer.

“Shiro,” Matt repeats, more suspiciously this time. He keeps trying to catch Shiro’s eye, but Shiro is resolutely focusing on his feet and nothing else. Matt gives up with a huff and crosses his arms, but inside his heart is singing. As much as he didn’t want to get his hopes up, it’s really hard to misinterpret what’s happening here; what Shiro’s struggling and failing to get across. “Come on, Shiro, you aren’t going to make me do this again, are you? Because I will, if I have to. But it’s not fair to make me confess twice, and you haven’t even done it once yet, don’t you think?”

Shiro’s lips stay firmly sealed, and Matt’s eyes slip closed in frustration. But hell, he said he’ll do it, and he will. “Shiro, you know I still lo – ”

“I love you,” Shiro suddenly announces. Matt’s jaw snaps shut so fast he nearly bites his tongue.

Shiro’s eyes are still fixed on the ground, but his jaw is clenched in determination. “I think I’ve loved you for a long time but I never quite realized it. And then we were separated and I thought about you every day I was in the ring. _Every single day._ And I couldn’t help but wish that I’d figured it out sooner, that I’d _done_ something, but it was too late. You were gone. And then there was the whole Voltron thing, and becoming a paladin and a leader, and suddenly there was so much else to think about that I just…let myself think it was just a crush. That I had more important things to worry about.”

He hesitates, and Matt gives him a little nudge, tells him he’s still listening.

“And then you were there, and it was like I was realizing how much I cared about you all over again. But I still had my team, and we’re fighting a war against an evil empire, and you had a _kid_ to worry about, and I just…I couldn’t help but think it was all going to blow up in my face. It just seemed too risky, there was too much to lose. So I…I turned you down. God, I was an idiot.”

“And then?” Matt prompts, because clearly something has changed. He is trying very hard to hear Shiro out, to not jump to conclusions.

“And then I saw you with Keith and I assumed you were together and it just…God, it hurt more than I thought it would. But I knew I’d had my chance and I screwed it up, and I just wanted you to be happy because I…because I love you.” He breathes deeply, gathering his thoughts. “So I told myself I’d do anything, whatever it took, to make sure Keith made you the happiest man in the universe.”

“Only, I’m not dating Keith,” Matt points out slyly.

“No. I guess you’re not,” Shiro agrees. And then in that moment, Matt sees Shiro finally _get_ it. His eyes go wide and his jaw drops open. “You’re _not_ ,” he breathes.

“Nope. And I don’t have a kid to worry about anymore either. Well, other than Pidge,” Matt jokes with a roll of his eyes. “And yeah, you’re still the leader of Voltron, and you’re still fighting the Galra, but I don’t think that means you have to give up on living a semi-normal life, Shiro. Your team has your back no matter what. They care about you. _I_ care about you.”

“I know,” Shiro says bashfully. “So, I mean – would you, uh, that is, if you’re still interested…”

Matt realizes in that moment that he and Shiro kind of suck at talking about their feelings for each other. What the hell, they’re both men of action anyways.

With that in mind, he shifts around on the bed until he can throw one leg over Shiro’s lap, straddling him, and once he’s seated properly he grabs Shiro’s face, ignoring his confused stammering, and slams their lips together.

Shiro gasps, but his hands automatically come up to grab Matt’s hips, and Matt mentally praises Shiro’s good instincts. Especially when he runs his tongue along Shiro’s lips, and Shiro’s fingers flex against his ass in response. Matt moans against Shiro’s mouth, and he feels Shiro shudder beneath him.

When he pulls back, Shiro is flushed and panting, and he can’t imagine he looks much better.

“Wow,” Shiro wheezes, looking a little punch-drunk.

“Was that okay?” Matt asks, just because while he’s 99% sure they’re both on the same page about this, he doesn’t want to make Shiro do anything he doesn’t want to.

“That was amazing,” Shiro sighs, staring up at him in wonder like he’s some kind of dream come true, and Matt blushes as red as his hair. “But, are you sure about this? I’ve hurt you so much.”

“Well then. Why don’t you just make it up to me?” Matt suggests with a cheeky smile, struggling not to laugh. He knows he should be taking this seriously, that Shiro is right. But he can hardly help himself; he’s just so happy that it feels like he’s full of bubbles about to burst. He’s sitting in Shiro’s lap, with Shiro’s hands _still_ clinging to his hips, and Shiro’s looking up at him with such adoration. How can he not be so blissful?

“I’m sorry, Matt,” Shiro whispers, his back bowing so he can press his head against Matt’s chest. “I really am.”

Matt hushes him, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. “Less apologizing, more kissing,” he demands. “I’m tired of being sad and full of regrets. I love you, you love me. That’s all that matters now.”

Shiro peeks up at him through his bangs with a small smile. “I think I can work with that,” he says. And then he cranes his neck up, and Matt bows his head to meet him halfway, and they’re kissing again.

They come together almost as one, as they slowly strip each other of their clothes until they’re completely bare. Shiro can’t seem to keep his hands off of Matt, tracing over every scar and mark that’s been left on his skin with almost religious devotion. Matt shivers in his arms at the constant contrast between Shiro’s warm human hand, the cold metal of his Galran arm, and then his tongue, basking in the attention. He’s almost too overwhelmed to return the favor, but Shiro doesn’t seem to mind, whimpering into Matt’s mouth as Matt kisses him breathless.

They end up on the bed, with Matt on his back and Shiro moving above him, surrounding him completely with his body and holding him tightly like he thinks Matt will try to run away. Matt sighs and moans with every thrust, gasps into Shiro’s mouth when Shiro bends down to kiss him, and sobs when Shiro gets the angle _just right_. Shiro is just as vocal, but he tries to muffle his sounds in Matt’s shoulder, panting hot and wet against Matt’s skin.

When it’s all over, and they’re lying together trying to catch their breath, Matt holds a shaking Shiro against his chest, stroking his fingers soothingly down Shiro’s back.

“I love you,” Shiro whispers again, sounding completely wrecked. “I love you so much.”

“Shh, love. I know,” Matt hushes him, dropping a kiss onto the top of Shiro’s head. His eyes slip closed as he starts to drift off. “I know.”

~☆~

Boo has long since fallen asleep in Matt’s arms, but he’s so tired from his chores for the day that he’s reluctant to get up and put him to bed. And neither Messa or Ranok seems in a rush to get to bed either.

The Galra pair are basking together in a pile of pillows, with Ranok resting his head in Messa’s lap while she strokes his fur. They’re chatting in low voices, and although Matt could follow the conversation if he really wanted to, he’d rather not strain himself translating the Galran in his head. Instead he’s content to watch them.

Messa says something that makes Ranok laugh, and she smiles down at him so warmly that it makes Matt’s chest ache. They are just so painfully in love with each other, and it’s so obvious that Matt can practically feel it like a physical thing from across the room. They may be members of an alien race that has enslaved half the galaxy, but seeing them together like this Matt can’t help but realize that they’re just _people_ , just regular people that happen to be in love.

Matt knows it’s foolish to hope that he’ll ever have happiness like that, but he still can’t help but dream.

~☆~

“So Shiro,” Pidge speaks up over breakfast the next morning. Matt looks up from shovelling his green goo into his face with reckless abandon, his cheeks full like a chipmunk. The others might complain about the Altean style food at practically every meal, but Matt’s eaten worse when he was on the run and starving, and as far as he’s concerned any food he doesn’t have to chase down and kill with his bare hands is gourmet.

“Yes, Pidge?” Shiro responds from the head of the table, cutting off his quiet discussion with Allura. “What’s up?”

Pidge glances at Matt, gives him an absolutely _evil_ smirk, and then turns back to Shiro. Matt feels his blood run cold.

“No,” he whimpers, but it’s too late.

“What’s this I hear about you seducing my brother away from Keith, his one true love?” Pidge asks with false innocence. She even bats her lashes for the full effect.

Lance, who was in the middle of drinking a glass of water, chokes and spits it across the table. Both Keith and Allura shriek “What?!” in the exact same tone, and Hunk misses his mouth with his spoon and smears goo all across his face. And instead of deflecting her comment, Shiro goes bright red and gapes like a fish, all but ensuring that the two of them will be mocked about this for the rest of the day, if not the rest of their lives.

“I hate you so much,” Matt grumbles to Pidge, letting his forehead thunk against the table as the rest of the team descends upon Shiro like a pack of ravenous lions.

“Hey, at least I didn’t mention all the raunchy sex you got up to last night,” she adds smugly.

“ _So_ much.”

She just pats him on the back, and goes back to serenely eating her breakfast despite the chaos going on around her that she caused. Matt sighs and decides to follow her lead. After all, this is his new normal, his new family. He’d better get used to it.

As he catches Shiro’s eye across the table through the paladins piling on him, he thinks of the night before and smiles. His new normal is actually pretty great, come to think of it.

And he’s happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come on, you didn't think I was REALLY gonna leave it one-sided, did you? :D

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoyed this, you can find more of my stuff at [my Voltron blog](http://i-see-london-i-see-klance.tumblr.com/), or there's always [my personal blog](http://ikiracake.tumblr.com/). Come say hi!


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